The mystery surrounding the involvement of Saurav Ganguly in the inaugural Masters Champions League reached ridiculous levels on Wednesday, with Libra Legends officials failing to clarify the availability of their captain for today’s opening match against Gemini Arabians.
Ganguly was nowhere to be seen a day before his team’s match against the Virender Sehwag-led Gemini Arabians, following reports from India that he had pulled out of the tournament with an injury. Zafar Shah, chairman of MCL, told reporters in Dubai on Tuesday that he had heard of the injury to the former India captain, but insisted that he would be in town for the match at Dubai International Stadium.
However, Ganguly was not with the team when they practiced at the ICC Academy on Wednesday, and he was also absent from the official captain’s picture with the trophy. In his absence, South African Jacques Kallis filled in.
Also missing from the picture was Sagittarius Strikers skipper Adam Gilchrist, but the Australian star was expected to arrive this morning. When contacted, Libra Legends officials could only confirm that Ganguly still remains the captain of the team and that he will be present for the match.
However, when asked about Ganguly’s arrival schedule, Sport360 was told that the information was “confidential”. When asked if he would play on Thursday, or if he expected to undergo a fitness test, the answer was even more vague.
We were told: “We can’t reveal any information about the playing XI under ICC’s anti-corruption rules.”
In the Tuesday press conference, Shah had said that the success of the tournament can only be gauged by the response of the fans once it starts. Hopefully, that is the case, and the performance of some of the retired legends is able to lift the event that, so far, will only be known for odd management.
The opening ceremony of the tournament is scheduled for 18:00 and will feature performances by noted music composers Sajid-Wajid and the popular Indian dancer and actor Prabhu Deva. That will be followed by the Libra-Gemini match, starting at 19:30.
The Arabians look like having the upper hand in that match, because of their extremely strong batting line-up. Sehwag, with a strike rate of 147.83, and Richard Levi (142.36), are in the top-three list of players with the best Twenty20 strike rate in the MCL (minimum 1,000 T20 runs). The third player in that list is Andrew Symonds (147.35), who represents Capricorn Commanders.
Apart from Sehwag and Levi, who are expected to open the batting for Arabians, they also have the recently retired Kumar Sangakkara, hard-hitting South African Justin Kemp and the leading spinners from the sub-continent, Sri Lanka’s Mutthiah Muralitharan and Pakistan’s Saqlain Mushtaq.
Ganguly’s team has Kallis and Graeme Swann, but the two players to watch out for are Aussie Brad Hogg, who is still going strong at the age of 45, and Dutchman Ryan ten Doeschate.
Two matches are scheduled on Friday – Capricorn Commanders taking on Leo Lions at 15:00, followed by Virgo Super Kings taking on Sagittarius Strikers in the later match at 19:30. The format of the tournament sees each team playing the other five teams once before the top four move into the semi-finals, which will be played in Dubai on February 11 and 12, followed by the final on Saturday, February 13.