People make mistakes, let's move on: Ganguly defends Pandya-Rahul on comments row
Mumbai, Jan 17: Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly Thursday said "we should move on" from the controversy surrounding Hardik Pandya and K L Rahul's sexist comments because he is sure the two will learn from it and become better persons.
Speaking at an event here, Ganguly said he hasn't seen the 'Koffee with Karan' episode in which Pandya and Rahul's misogynistic comments on women led to a provisional suspension on them. But he offered a sympathetic view on the under-fire duo.
"People make mistakes, let's not go too far here. I am sure, whoever has done it will realise and come out a better person. We are human beings not machines that we will always be perfect. We should move on and make sure it doesn't happen again," Ganguly said on the raging controversy.
Pandya and Rahul were forced to return midway through the ongoing ODI series against Australia and India captain Virat Kohli condemned their statements on hookups with multiple women as "inappropriate".
They have been show caused twice by the BCCI since then and are also being put through an inquiry.
Ganguly said most cricketers are "great guys".
"...they (cricketers) are humble, every now and then one or two make mistakes but I know most of them personally and they are great guys," Ganguly said during the trailer launch of '22 Yards' at a suburb here.
Pandya and Rahul, pending the outcome of the inquiry, will not be a part of the Indian team. After missing the ongoing ODI series, they are set to miss the upcoming New Zealand Tour as well.
Ganguly, who has been credited with shaping Indian cricket during his captaincy stint, said it's not that modern-day cricketers are not obedient.
"Look at Virat Kohli, he is such a fantastic role model. India is a fortunate country, every generation produces players who all of us cherish, there was (Sunil) Gavaskar, then came (Sachin) Tendulkar, when Tendulkar finished people thought who's next, now it's Virat Kohli.
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Rickelton's ton in vain as SRH beat MI by 6 wickets
Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
