Dada faces Buchanan’s bouncer

Dada walked up to the middle of the pitch to face the Buchanan bouncer hurled not just at him but at various cricketing greats of India. Angry at John Buchanan’s criticism of Indian criketing greats such as Sunny Gavaskar and batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar, Dada pointed out that John should not have bad-mouthed the Indians.

“It’s not just Sunny, John has taken quite a few names…I think, we Indians are used to it now. It’s unfortunate and we just got to deal with it,” the former captain said. Earlier, Buchanan in his recently released book “The Future of Cricket: The Rise of Twenty20′,had taken potshots at various Indian stars such as Gavaskar, Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Dravid, Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj Singh.

Ganguly added that he not read the book but felt that such comments were not in the right spirit and taste. “He should not have written such things. He has done well for Australia as a coach and people hold him in high esteem. He should not have done this. I don’t thing this should have happened,” Ganguly said.

When quizzed about the ongoing Ashes series, Ganguly said Australia were missing a spinner more than a pacer but still they can win the Tests. “Definitely, Australia can still win without Brett Lee. I think they are missing a spinner more than a pacer,” he said.

The former India captain has been invited by the ICC to deliver a lecture on cricket at the University of Oxford and Ganguly said, “I am going on July 14th. I will take the fellowship…watch a few days of the Ashes Test and go to Oxford.”

What is important to be followed here is the mellowness with which Ganguly answered Buchanan, much like the silken cover drive which used to beat most of the fielder’s cordon inside the circle in a cricket match. Beware Buchanan! The game has just begun.