Press Trust of India Posted online: Thursday, December 15, 2005 at 1658 hours IST Updated: Thursday, December 15, 2005 at 1724 hours IST
Kolkata, December 15: Leftists in West Bengal on Thursday took up cudgels against the axing of Sourav Ganguly from the Indian team for the third Test against Sri Lanka, with CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta sending a protest letter to BCCI chief Sharad Pawar urging him to protect Indian cricket from politics.
In his letter to Pawar, Dasgupta claimed that Ganguly's exclusion was not on 'merit', but on 'some other considerations that has influenced the decision of the Selection Committee'.
The CPI leader said the performance of Ganguly could not be treated as 'below standard' and his lifetime record in terms of performance was 'splendid'.
"If the Selection Committee does not function on merit, the future of Indian cricket will be bleak," he said.
"I am sending this letter to you seeking your intervention in whatever way possible to protect Indian cricket from 'narrow politics' and the danger of selection not being on merit," Dasgupta said.
"If this happens to Sourav, then it can happen to any cricketer in future. It will affect the advance of Indian cricket. Indian cricket must be free from all evils of narrow-mindedness and parochialism," the CPI MP said.
He said Ganguly should be included in the Indian squad in the third Test.
Meanwhile, West Bengal Minister Ashok Bhattacharya has said Sourav Ganguly is a victim of deep conspiracy.
Kolkata, December 15: Leftists in West Bengal on Thursday took up cudgels against the axing of Sourav Ganguly from the Indian team for the third Test against Sri Lanka, with CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta sending a protest letter to BCCI chief Sharad Pawar urging him to protect Indian cricket from politics.
