da leao： Sourav Ganguly’s fitness has been a talking point ever since he was stretcheredoff the field during the final one-dayer at Lahore
da 888： Anand Vasu in Multan25-Mar-2004
Sourav Ganguly being carried off in a stretcher in the final one-dayer at Lahore. Thankfully for India, his injury isn’t as serious as it first appeared© AFP
Sourav Ganguly’s fitness has been a talking point ever since he was stretcheredoff the field during the final one-dayer at Lahore. Ratnakar Shetty, the managerof the Indian team, said today, “there is good news. An MRI scan was doneyesterday and it showed that there was no back injury. Sourav [Ganguly] onlysuffered from muscle pain.” However, it was not possible to say to say whetherGanguly would be fit enough to take the field on Saturday, when the first Testbegins.Ganguly, who arrived in Multan from Lahore on Friday morning, had undergonephysiotherapy sessions with Andrew Leipus, and his injury was not thought to beserious. He has to undergo two more sessions in the lead-up to the first Test.When asked whether Ganguly would be in a position to play the first Test, Shettysaid, “It’s too early to say anything now. He needs rest. We will have a clearerpicture only by tomorrow evening or on the morning of the match.”However, word on the ground is that while Ganguly’s injury is not serious, itmight prevent him from being fully fit in time for the first Test. It is learntthat Ganguly has a slight disc problem, and is still in considerable pain. Gangulyfound sitting down a painful experience for most of Thursday, and has indicatedthat it is unlikely that he will be in a position to play in the first Test, inwhich case Yuvraj Singh will get to play his second Test match in almost identicalcircumstances to those in which he made his debut in Mohali last October.On that occasion Ganguly had minor surgery to remove an abscess on his upper leftthigh, and pulled out on the eve of the match. This gave Yuvraj his Test debut athis home ground. That was also the only instance when Rahul Dravid led India in aTest match.”Obviously, if you are missing your captain, then you will find things a bitdifferent,” said Haroon Rashid, the Pakistan manager. “We are well aware thatSourav is a very influential member of the Indian team. He has done very well as acaptain, and has the backing of the entire team. I guess Rahul will do a good jobas captain, but there will be pressure on the Indians because they will miss avery key player if Sourav doesn’t play here.”Interestingly enough, Ganguly needs just one more Test victory to become the mostsuccessful Indian Test captain ever. India’s famous win in Adelaide last Decembertied him with Mohammad Azharuddin as the winningest Indian Test captain – they both have 14 wins apiece. Ganguly is also India’s most successful leader overseas with Test wins in Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, West Indies, England and Australia under his belt.Ganguly’s injury appeared to be very serious when he had to be carried off thefield. He was attempting to stop a drive at mid-off, off the bat of Inzamam-ul-Haq. When he dived, Ganguly fell awkwardly, hitting the ground sideways androlling over. Yet, when the game was won Ganguly walked out onto the field tocelebrate with the rest of the team.
