Former BCCI president Sourav Ganguly set to join Delhi Capitals as Director of Cricket
New Delhi (PTI): Former BCCI president Sourav Ganguly will be returning to the IPL as Director of Cricket with the Delhi Capitals in the upcoming edition, sources close to the development said on Tuesday.
The former India captain, who stepped down from the BCCI president's post in October, will also oversee all the cricket verticals of the franchise along with the ILT20 team Dubai Capitals and the SA T20 league side Pretoria Capitals.
"Yes, Sourav will be back with Delhi Capitals from this year. The discussions and modalities are over. He has worked with the franchise, shares a good comfort level with owners and if he would have worked in IPL, it would have always been with DC," an IPL source tracking the developments told PTI on the condition of anonymity.
It couldn't be confirmed whether Ganguly will have any minority stake in the franchise co-owned by GMR and JSW groups.
Ganguly was the mentor of Delhi Capitals during his stint with the franchise in 2019.
It is understood that Delhi Capitals' recent auction picks had both head coach Ricky Ponting and Ganguly's footprints.
The IPL franchise owners, with their diversification, are now looking at global roles for all big names who are associated with the respective franchises.
"If you look at Gautam Gambhir with Lucknow Super Giants and Durban Super Giants and Mahela Jayawardena with MI Emirates and MI Cape Town along with Mumbai Indians, the roles are becoming diverse as in foreign leagues, you aren't often dealing with same set of players," the IPL source added.
Ganguly and Ponting are two of the sharpest cricket brains but it will be interesting to see how the two collaborate in bringing about optimum performance from Delhi Capitals in the IPL.
It will be a big challenge for both Ponting and Ganguly with regular skipper Rishabh Pant all but out of IPL after his horrifying car accident last week.
Pant the skipper is replaceable but Pant the batter-keeper remains one of the biggest game-changers despite his underwhelming T20 performance.
In fact, Delhi Capitals had released Kona Bharat, who was picked at the last auction by Gujarat Titans.
None of the top line Indian white-ball wicket-keepers are available, with Sanju Samson (Rajasthan Royals), Ishan Kishan (MI), Wriddhiman Saha (GT), Upendra Yadav (SRH), KL Rahul (LSG) being already taken by one franchise or the other.
As of now, the only other available skipper in the squad is Englishman Phil Salt.
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Three more arrested in connection with murder of Suhas Shetty in Mangaluru
Mangaluru (Karnataka), May 14 (PTI): The Mangaluru City Crime Branch has arrested three men in connection with the murder of Hindutva activist Suhas Shetty, officials said on Wednesday.
The accused, identified as Azaruddin alias Azar alias Ajju (29), Abdul Khader alias Noufal (24) and Vamanjoor Noushad alias Chotte Noushad (39), were arrested during the last two days, they said.
With the fresh arrests, a total of 11 people have been arrested in connection with the murder so far, police said.
According to a police statement, Azaruddin had previously been booked in three theft cases registered at Panambur, Suratkal, and Mulki police stations. He allegedly provided information about Shetty's movements to the other accused, aiding in the murder.
Khader is said to have assisted the accused during their escape in a car after the murder was committed.
Noushad is accused of having conspired with the others and directly participated in the crime. He has six previous criminal cases, including murder, attempted murder, and robbery conspiracy, registered at various police stations in Dakshina Kannada, police said.
Azaruddin has been remanded in judicial custody, while Khader and Noushad have been taken into police custody for seven days for further investigation.
Police said the investigation is ongoing and efforts are underway to trace other accused involved in the case.
Shetty, a known rowdy sheeter and Hindutva activist, was murdered by a group on May 1 within the Bajpe police station limits in Mangaluru City.
