Didn't expect Dhoni to be picked for SA T20s as Rishabh Pant rightly deserves more chances: Ganguly
New Delhi, Aug 31: Former India captain Sourav Ganguly didn't expect Mahendra Singh Dhoni to be "picked" for the upcoming T20 Internationals against South Africa and said the team management is absolutely right in persisting with young Rishabh Pant.
The 38-year-old Dhoni's future in international cricket has been a topic of debate with the national selectors showing an inclination to look towards the future.
While Ganguly doesn't want people to "jump the gun" as far as Dhoni's future is concerned, he made it clear that skipper Virat Kohli's "expectations" and "what he is communicating" to the senior-most player in the team is paramount.
"No, I didn't expect him to be picked for this series (against South Africa)," Ganguly replied when asked if he was surprised with Dhoni's omission even though the official reason is his "unavailability".
"You could make out from West Indies (T20) series, that they (team management) wanted to give Rishabh a chance. They want to pursue with him, which is rightly so. Because when MS came in young, he was also persisted with," said Dhoni's first international captain.
However, one of India's best captains agreed that it's a tricky situation which skipper Kohli needs to deal with.
"I think Virat is very important as to what he is communicating to Dhoni. What he (Kohli) expects of him (Dhoni) is very hard to say. But I don't think anybody should jump the gun and pass a statement," said the 47-year-old former skipper.
"I don't know what's the communication between, Dhoni, the selectors and the team management. I am a bit far off from those discussions," he added.
For every elite athlete at the business end of their careers, a situation comes where they have to take a hard call, feels Ganguly.
"For every cricketer, there comes a stage and it hasn't left any athlete --whether its Maradona, Sampras, Tendulkar and now Dhoni. When you get to that sort of an age, you will get to that kind of a situation.
"If Virat and team management expects Dhoni to comeback and play, he will play, if they feel like moving forward, they would move forward. Of course, the selectors will also play an important role," he opined.
Ganguly also doesn't want Pant to be compared to a legend like Dhoni.
Asked if there is this "elephant in the room" (Dhoni) for Pant, Ganguly sounded dismissive.
"There is no elephant in the room. Rishabh is no MS Dhoni and will not become MS Dhoni in the next 3-4 years. It took 15 years for MS Dhoni to become "the MS Dhoni". Dhoni is a special breed in Indian cricket," said Ganguly, who also works with Pant as a 'Mentor' of Delhi Capitals.
But at the same time, he finds it baffling that there were calls from some quarters to drop the young keeper-batsman just because he has failed in one match despite his phenomenal Test record.
"I was reading somewhere after he failed in just two innings in the first Test match, that whether he will play the next Test match. I said "what?", this fellow got a hundred, only one Test ago (in Australia) and a couple of 92s few matches before that (against West Indies). He is special although I won't compare him with Dhoni."
A fit-again Wriddhiman Saha, who is a month shy of turning 35, has returned to the Indian Test squad but Ganguly said he has no option but to wait.
"Wriddhiman will have to wait for his chance. Age doesn't matter here," said Ganguly.
Kohli is on the verge of becoming India's most successful Test captain with 28 wins if his team wins the ongoing second Test against the West Indies in Kingston.
"Virat is a tremendous captain and he is getting better and better. He was criticised when he wasn't doing well for RCB in the IPL and even then I had said that I believe he is a good captain. I think he has progressed well," he said.
The West Indies team has been on a steady decline in the past few decades.
While Ganguly doesn't want to compare Caribbean outfits from the past, he is a bit taken aback by their lack of positive intent.
"But I am surprised with the way West Indies play Test cricket. They enjoyed winning tosses and putting opposition in and batting on 4th day when they have no chance," he concluded.
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Bengaluru building collapse: Seven more bodies recovered; owner, contractor held
Bengaluru, Oct 23: Seven more bodies were recovered during search and rescue operation after an under-construction building collapsed at Babusapalya here, taking the death toll to eight, police said on Wednesday.
Teams from the fire and emergency department, National Disaster Response Force and State Disaster Response Force have been pressed into rescue operations since the incident occurred during heavy downpour on Tuesday.
Three people have been arrested in connection with the incident, they said.
"Muniraja Reddy under whose name the building was being constructed, his son Bhuvan and the contractor Muniyappa who was building it have been arrested in connection with the incident," a senior police official said.
"Permission was only for construction of a four-storey building but seven floors were being constructed," he said.
One body was recovered by the rescue team on Tuesday.
"Seven more bodies have been recovered and six workers were injured."
Those killed in the incident hailed from Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
Search operation is underway to trace two more people who have been reported missing since the incident and are suspected to be trapped under the rubble, the official said.
Thirteen workers have been rescued so far, he said.
Meanwhile, Assistant Executive Engineer Vinay K has been suspended by the city's civic body BBMP in connection with the incident with immediate effect for serious dereliction of duty, officials said.
Lokayukta Justice B S Patil, who visited the spot, termed it as an "unfortunate incident" and assured that all necessary actions will be taken to ensure that such incidents do not happen.
"It is an unfortunate incident. Eight innocents have lost their lives. There is suspicion that two more people are still trapped. Who is responsible for it? Why it happened? Who is at fault?. We have registered a suo moto case. We have come here for inspection," he told reporters here.
He said that the inspection revealed that there was no license. When such a big building was coming up, there was no sanctioned plan nor license. The building was being constructed illegally.
"It is said that the building was being constructed for the last two years. Still the BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike) officials have not tried to stop it. We have to come to know prima facie that no notice was served when the construction was on from foundation to the fourth floor," he said.
Patil said buildings should not be constructed illegally and that the constructions have to be done with proper license. The officials should not remain silent when unauthorised constructions are underway and then issue notice after they are completed.
"We have inquired assistant executive engineer , zonal commissioner and joint commissioner and prima facie, we have come to know that there is lapse on part of officials, they will be served notice and they will be summoned. Such a tragic incident should be an eye opener for Bengalureans," he said.
"If the constructions are stopped, the question of demolition will not arise. Such incidents should not happen again and we will take all necessary actions," he added.
