Sourav Ganguly may not play IPL again

After another insipid season with his new team Pune Warriors, Sourav Ganguly is all set to make this season his last as a player. Team owner Subroto Roy told NDTV that Ganguly may give up the captaincy after this year and may take up the role of mentor for the team. Pune Warriors are currently second from the bottom, having lost 9 of the 12 games they’ve played. Ganguly has scored 261 runs at a detrimental strike rate of 100.77, which has affected the team on various occasions.

Sourav Ganguly joined Pune Warriors last year during the later part of the season after he was overlooked by other teams, including Kolkata Knight Riders, whom he captained for the best part of 3 seasons. He took the role of captain-cum-mentor this season but hasn’t really shone as a player. Subroto Roy said that Ganguly was initially interested in the role of mentor this season, before Roy managed to change his mind. “Sourav will be the mentor next season,” Roy told news channel NDTV. “We rather pushed him to play in IPL-5 as he is such a fantastic captain.”

Sahara Pune Warriors are already out of the playoff race but have 3 matches remaining. Roy has suggested that Ganguly may be rested for the remainder of the season. ”Sourav wants to give youngsters a chance in the last games,” he said. Ganguly has captained Warriors in all 13 of their matches this season.

Ganguly told reporters later: “I am still the captain, I’ll captain for the whole season and that’s about it,” he said. “It (my form) has been patchy. I have played well at times and haven’t played well at times. That’s the way it goes in T20 format. There are other players around that haven’t done well but when it comes to Ganguly, there is more criticism. That’s been the trend for the last 15 years. But I expected to perform better.”

He was also quoted as saying: “I did not want to be the captain but was asked to do so. Now I want to give youngsters a chance.”

But when asked if there was no truth in reports that he wouldn’t play the next 3 games, he said, ”Absolutely. I am the captain for the full season and will continue to be the captain.”

Ganguly fans will be hoping to get a chance of seeing their Dada for one final time on field.