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| Sachin Tendulkar |
Mumbai: The Indian Premier League (IPL) has pitted Sachin Tendulkar against Sourav Ganguly but the issue of age, which keeps cropping up every now and then, has brought them together on the same side of the fence.
Indeed, at the pre-match media conference on Thursday, cricket’s senior-most pro Sachin and Sourav, who is among the most senior of players in India, made more than a statement on the business of age.
Sourav turns 36 in early July, Sachin turned 35 last month.
“It’s fashionable to talk of age, but I’ve always maintained that class and performance matter… If you look at the IPL, almost everybody who has got a hundred is over-30… Sanath Jayasuriya (a blazing unbeaten 114 for the Mumbai Indians on Wednesday) is almost 39… I myself missed a hundred narrowly,” pointed out Sourav, who is captaining the Kolkata Knight Riders.
Just a few minutes earlier, Sachin (leading the Mumbai Indians) had said much the same thing. “This tournament is the biggest proof that age doesn’t matter… It’s performance… This IPL should stop such questions…”
The other night, at the Eden, Sourav had even gone to the extent of saying “I hope the selectors are watching…” At the media conference, though, he clarified he’d been joking.
Asked whether his performances in the Twenty20 format would help him stage another comeback in ODIs, Sourav replied: “I’m sure my turn will (again) come in ODIs… What I feel bad about is that after 13 years (starting with his Test debut at Lord’s in 1996), I still surprise people.”
Contacted by The Telegraph, chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar maintained: “We’ve certainly been impressed with the effort Sourav has been putting into his fielding… Beyond that, I can’t say anything… The team gets picked by five selectors.”
The selectors, meanwhile, have been given permission to watch the IPL matches from next week. “I may come to Calcutta on the 25th (for the Knight Riders’ home match against Kings XI Punjab),” Vengsarkar said.
Footnote: The Knight Riders’ owner, Shah Rukh Khan, has had a hair cut after ages. “They cut it this (Thursday) morning for my new film — Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi,” he remarked during a TV shoot in the afternoon. Turning to Sourav, he asked: “Theek hai na? Looks good?” His captain gave a spontaneous thumbs-up.
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