Sourav gets a kick again : This time from Buchanan

"There won't necessarily be a fixed captain," Knight Riders' coach John Buchanan told reporters at a press conference here.

He denied there was any controversy over Sourav Ganguly's captaincy and said, "My decisions have nothing to do with Ganguly. It's how I perceive the game of T20. There is no controversy at all. I am open to look at running the side in a new way.

"We will choose the captain depending on the game. There can be multiple team captains in the series," he added.

Buchanan, who was repeatedly asked about the captaincy issue, retorted that the "media was creating controversies. There's nothing between me and Sourav or me and some other player."

Ganguly, who had a half-hour chat with Buchanan on Tuesday after the initial reports emerged about his captaincy, said: "John's concept is new, we have to accept what he decides since he's the coach.

"My goal is to score runs and pick wickets, rest is upto John since he's the coach," Ganguly added.

Coach is the Don, he is the boss.

Originally Posted by knoughtyd

Dada got bitten by Kekdas

Originally Posted by Saiyan

I got headache watching this news every 5 mins in the TV

I want to do some straight talking. I am also disappointed that you have been axed as captain of Knight Riders. Is it all about power?

Sourav: I don't want to comment on that.

Silence is golden at times. Your body language at the press conference told me two things. One is that something is being thrust on you. And the second one is there seems to be utter indifference on your part - like let somebody try this and I will see.

Sourav: It is John Buchanan's idea. He is the coach of the team. He has his plans which he tries to make the team good. It has never happened in cricket. It is completely new. Obviously, I cannot comment on that since I have never been part of a team which has 3 or 4 captains. I had 3 or 4 former captains in the team though. But, I have never been in a situation where everybody is captaining one game or the other. So, it is completely new. We will have to wait and see how it works.

I have never heard that a team has four captains. One can understand the prudence of forward thinking. What is this logic?

Sourav: It is difficult for me to comment on this at this particular moment. It is John's idea. We will know only when it is implemented.

Last year, the Knight Riders did not have a good journey. You got three Man of the Match awards, and then a majestic retirement from Test cricket, and now this?

Sourav: I don't this has got to do with performance. I think it is a strategy. Last, in Knight Riders. we didn't have a team. McCullum went away. Ponting went away. We backed a lot on Gayle. He left after two games because was picked to play for West Indies. Basically, we were only playing with our overseas players Salman Butt, Omar Gul and Mohammed hafiz. We didn't have a team. We won some 6 games last year with a team which we actually never had in full.

Despite this good show last year, there seems to be no problem with the coach - his power increase, no problem with the batting coach and no problem with the management. There seems to be problem with the captain?

Sourav: It is John's ideas. We have to see where it goes.

Did you speak with Shah Rukh Khan. Is there any interference from him?

Sourav: I speak with him very often. But, this thing cropped up in the newspapers day before yesterday. He is buzy with the logistics of the team.

Doesn't SRK have the final call?

Sourav: I am sure he has. He is the owner of the team.

Were you consulted at all since you are senior player, an icon player, before this idea was mooted to the press?

Sourav: I read in the press. I talked with John yesterday. John thinks it should be the way T20 should be played. I read in the press first.

Is there something wrong in the team? Is it pity that the captain has to read about the major strategy in the press?

Sourav: This has created lot of speculation and lot of news in the television. We still have to wait and see how far it goes. John is trying to work this out in the form of warm-up games and practice games. Let's not go too far into this. John is also not part of a team which had this situation. I was told that he tried once with the Australian team but it didn't go forward. We will all do what is best for the team. We will have to play well to win like any other franchisee. In sport, there is no guarantee with one captain winning or five captains winning a game. It is only that you pick players and you back them. Some times teams do well, some other times they don't do well. That is how teams are built. You cannot keep chopping and changing everytime. That is how cricket goes forward. Players are going to perform only with their consistency. I think Mathew Mort has lots of ideas. He was part of a team, New South Wales, which has won the T20 competition. He is the actual coach of the team. We will wait and see.

Your sacking might not go well with lots of Bengal players. It might create lot of adverse impact.

Sourav: It is difficult to say what players think. Lot of time players have lots of opinions. When players are playing it is difficult for them to voice their opinions. What happened during the Greg Chappel time. Now, players express their concerns.

What about these Aussies. You seem to have lot of love-hate relationship with them.

Sourav: I have good relations with Aussies although we compete hard on the ground.

Do you think it is a temporary experiment?

Sourav: It is difficult to say whether it is temporary or not.

As a Kolkata Knight Riders players, does your commitment remain the same.

Sourav: Of course. At the end of the day, have my own reputation. I have a commitment to the Knight Riders. I look forward to doing well. Hopefully, we will pick players who are available for the entire tournament.


Will it be another challenge for you to comeback and perform good in the IPL this time?

Sourav: My side has down well.

Has this given you a challenge?

Sourav: Everything for me is a challenge. When I was left out in 2005, I made a come back and did well. I felt that I was good enough. It is a question of reputation to keep. I have known SRK for a long time. He himself is a performer. He is not a businessman.

All the best, Sourav.

Sourav: Thanks.