'Welcome to the club': Dada on Mithali's semi-final snub
Former Indian men's cricket team team skipper, Sourav Ganguly, shared his views on the controversy surrounding veteran women's cricketer Mithali Raj. Mithali was surprisingly dropped from India's semi-final line-up against England in the recently concluded Women's World T20. The move backfired as India went on to lose the match quite embarrassingly. Mithali's exclusion stirred a controversy and here's what Dada said about the same.
Ganguly has his say on Mithali's exclusion
Commenting on the issue surrounding Mithali, Dada said that he was not surprised by her exclusion from the line-up. Making his point, the legend said, "The best in the world are at times shown the door...I have also sat out in the dugout after captaining India. When I saw Mithali Raj being dropped, I said, welcome to the group".
Dada, himself, went through a dark phase in 2005
Dada, himself, has been a part of several controversies on-field. Under former coach Greg Chappell, he was stripped of captaincy in 2005. He was even dropped from the squad and had to script a comeback. Dada gave the example of the dark phase he had to endure back then. He concluded that these things happen in life.
'Captains are asked to sit, so just do it'
"Captains are asked to sit, so just do it. I have done it in Faisalabad. I didn't play an ODI game for 15 months when I was probably the best performer in one-day cricket. The best in the world are at times shown the door."
There will be an opportunity again: Dada on Mithali
Ganguly went on to cheer Mithali and feels there will be an opportunity again. "You should always remember you're best because you did something and there's an opportunity again. So, I am not too disappointed seeing Mithali being asked to sit out," said Dada. "But I am disappointed because India lost the semi-finals, because I thought they had the team to go the distance."
In-form Mithali was surprisingly omitted from playing XI
In the ICC World T20, Raj was asked to bat lower down the order in the opening match. But, she resumed her normal position for the next two matches. Mithali hit 56 against Pakistan and then notched a gritty 51 against the Irish eves. She was rested for the game against Australia. And then in a vital semis clash, she was dropped.
CoA asks management to reply
Following the controversy regarding Mithali's exclusion, the CoA has requested for Mithali's fitness logs. The body is also concerned over the leak of India's selection meeting ahead of the crucial encounter against England. It has asked for an explanation from CEO Rahul Johri and other senior officials. Reports state that coach and manager of the women's team are scheduled to meet the CoA today.
