DHAKA, 9 May 2007 — The mystery of the missing Saurav Ganguly has baffled not only Indian fans but also millions of his supporters across the border in Bangladesh.
The former India captain and senior pro Sachin Tendulkar were left out of the one-day series starting here tomorrow, with the selectors insisting the duo had been rested.
Legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev was convinced the two had been dropped after the World Cup debacle where India were knocked out in the first round after losing to Bangladesh and eventual finalists Sri Lanka.
Both Ganguly and Tendulkar have been picked for the two Test matches to follow, but the omission of two of the most successful batsmen in one-day history has irked Bangladeshi fans.
“India just refuses to take Bangladesh seriously and they will pay for it like they did in the World Cup,” said a young fan Ashraful Momin.
“Saurav ‘dada’ (elder brother) is very popular here, and not getting a chance to see him and Sachin is very disappointing.” Added another fan Mohammad Shamim: “Ganguly is our hero, not because he is a fellow Bengali, but because he is a great player.
“We would have thought India would field its best team against us. India need to be reminded that we won the World Cup match, not them.” Tendulkar is the world’s leading one-day batsman with a record 14,847 runs and 41 centuries.
Ganguly, from the West Bengal capital Kolkata, is one of only seven batsman with more than 10,000 runs, his 10,632 inclusive of 22 hundreds.
Bangladesh’s maiden entry into the second round of the World Cup has caused a major change in the attitude of fans, who now hero-worship their own players more than those from abroad.
“We have our own heroes now,” said journalist Abdul Halim. “Players like Mohammad Ashraful, Mashrafe Mortaza, Tamim Iqbal and Abdur Razzak became very popular during the World Cup.” Bangladesh have lost 13 of their 15 one-dayers against India, but their two victories came in the last four games.
Pakistan Expect ‘Conclusive’ Word
on Woolmer’s Death in 2 Weeks
In Islamabad, Pakistan said yesterday it expects to hear “conclusive” word in about two weeks on how national cricket coach Bob Woolmer died during the recent World Cup.
Jamaican investigators “will take 10 to 15 days to come out with a conclusive report” on the cause of Woolmer’s death, Javed Iqbal Cheema, a senior Interior Ministry official, told reporters. Woolmer, 58, was found unconscious in his Kingston hotel room on March 18 and pronounced dead at a hospital, following Pakistan’s shock elimination from the World Cup in a loss to Ireland. Jamaican police later said Woolmer had been strangled.
However, one of two Pakistani detectives who traveled to the West Indies to assist in the probe told The Associated Press on Monday that the investigation was so far “inconclusive.”
The detective, Mir Zubair Mahmood, said it was unclear whether Woolmer was murdered or had died of natural causes.
Cheema confirmed that, based on a briefing from the Pakistani detectives, the death remained “unexplained.”
A senior Jamaican investigator said last week that they were trying to identify dozens of people captured by security cameras at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, where Woolmer was found dead.
About 80 unidentified people were filmed on Woolmer’s floor while he and his team were staying there, according to Deputy Police Commissioner Mark Shields who is heading the probe into Woolmer’s death.
Police have made no arrests.
Shields said investigators were looking into the possibility Woolmer had been poisoned and were awaiting analysis of toxicology tests from a British lab.
