Press Trust of India Posted online: Friday, February 21, 2003 at 1623 hours IST Updated: Friday, February 21, 2003 at 1727 hours IST
Kolkata, February 21: Five days after his outburst against Sourav Ganguly, his elder brother Snehasish on Friday regretted his harsh words but said the Indian captain could not be spared if "his mind was not in the game during the World Cup".
"Sourav is my brother. I myself felt bad at the way I criticised him. But then if a professional cricketer does not have his mind in the game while playing the World Cup, then that cannot be condoned," Snehasish said in his column in Bengali daily 'Ganashakti', a CPI(M)'S mouthpiece.
Snehasish, who had created a stir with a scathing attack on his more illustrious brother in his earlier column on Sunday, justified his comments saying that Sourav did not seem to be in the right frame of mind in the first two World Cup matches.
Going hammer and tongs against Sourav, the elder Ganguly had gone to the extent of saying that the Indian skipper would not only lose his post, but even his place in the side if he carried on in the same way.
But Snehashish has a lot of faith in his younger brother's batting abilities and felt that he needed to play a big innings in India's next match against Namibia to "give a further boost to the morale of his side.
Hoping for a hundred from his blade on Sunday, Snehasish, a former first class cricketer from Bengal, said, "If a skipper cannot perform, his team's morale dips. So, Sourav must come out with a big knock."
Snehasish said that the Indian skipper showed all the signs of coming back into his vintage best against Zimbabwe.
"He scored only 24, but the six he hit gave me ample satisfaction. This is the Sourav I was trying to find,” he said.
"But though he did not succeed that much with the bat, he showed his intelligence by deciding to bowl. Sourav knew that he had a very good chance of succeeding on the Harare wicket. He bowled to a perfect line and length and finished with three wickets," Snehasish said.
The former first class cricketer said that he also felt assured by Ganguly's body language.
"The way he sprinted with his hands raised after tasting success assured me that he was getting back into rhythm," Snehasish said.
