Ganguly not playing for money: Pune Warriors

Updated on: 04 May,2011 08:00 AM IST |
Agencies |

Pune Warriors who have picked up former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly to replace the injured Ashish Nehra for the remainder of the ongoing IPL, yesterday said that Ganguly was not interested in the money.

Ganguly, who had pitched his base price at $400,000, went unsold twice in the players' auction in January.

Pune skipper Yuvraj Singh

Ganguly, who had a controversial three years as Kolkata Knight Riders captain and player, was offered the role of mentor by Knight Riders' owner Shahrukh Khan, but he flatly refused to quit playing.

Then, Kochi Tuskers wanted to sign him him out of auction, but this time the IPL Governing Council shot it down following opposition from other franchises. Eventually, the Warriors succeeded in roping Ganguly in when a medical opinion ruled Nehra out of the entire IPL-IV.

Ganguly will thus play under his protege Yuvraj Singh for the remainder of the IPL season.

The Pune Warriors team management said Ganguyl was not in it for the money.

Pune Warriors team director Abhijit Sarkar said: "He (Ganguly) told us that he is not playing for money but to prove a point. We hope Ganguly's experience will help the team.

Skipper Yuvraj meanwhile said: "He's experienced and I will get help in captaining the team. He was a big support for me when I started playing. Guys like Laxman and Dravid are still playing good cricket, so I though he too deserves a chance."