India vs South Africa: Why BCCI President-elect Sourav Ganguly will miss Ranchi Test.

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The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President-elect Sourav Ganguly was keen to go and spend time with the Indian players as they gear up to play the third and final Test against South Africa in Ranchi from October 19, but he had to cancel the plan as he will have to be present for the inauguration for this edition of the Indian Super League in Kerala on October 20.

“Wanted to go to Ranchi, but won’t get time as I have to inaugurate this edition of the Indian Super League as I’m now the face of ISL and shot for them. So, I will be attending the opening ceremony in Kerala,” Ganguly said.

Even though the Test is to be played from October 19 till October 23, Ganguly will be heading to Mumbai from Kochi as he will officially take over as the new BCCI chief at the board headquarter on October 23.

While Ganguly has stepped down from his position as mentor of Delhi Capitals, he is set to continue shooting for the reality show Dadagiri and will also be doing endorsements.

“I will continue doing only (Bengali TV show) Dadagiri and endorsements, rest all stopped. Commentary, article writing and IPL, I’ll stop doing all this now. I’ve already quit Delhi Capitals and conveyed it to them. It’s a huge responsibility and the first task would be to form various committees by calling Apex Council meeting,” he pointed.

On his committee with ISL team ATK, Ganguly said that he hasn’t spoken to them in recent times and will do so soon.

MS Dhoni chills out with friends in Ranchi.

Source – crictracker.com

While the rest of Indian cricket may feel anxious and curious about his future, former India captain MS Dhoni seems to be least concerned. The 38-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman who last played for India in the ICC World Cup in England hasn’t yet called it quits from international cricket and that has kept everybody, from the administrators to the supporters, guessing. And recently, the ‘cool’ cricketer was seen chilling out with his biker friends on the streets of Ranchi.

On Saturday, Dhoni joined the birthday celebrations of his childhood friend Seemant Lohani at his farmhouse at Kailashpati on the outskirts of Ranchi. His friends gathered on the occasion and the ace cricketer was seen busy smearing cake on his friend’s face. Dhoni recently was present at the JSCA Stadium in Ranchi where he met his India teammates as they took on South Africa in a Test match. Earlier this year, too, Dhoni had invited the Indian cricketers at his farmhouse after they visited his hometown to play against Australia in an ODI.

MS Dhoni hasn’t played for India after World Cup 2019

Dhoni has kept himself away from the national assignments ever since India crashed out of the World Cup in July. He went for military training during India’s tour of the West Indies and also gave the subsequent series against South Africa and Bangladesh a miss. He may be seen featuring in India’s home series against the West Indies next month and particularly the poor form of Rishabh Pant has encouraged his fans. They are even hopeful that Dhoni will end up playing in the T20 World Cup in Australia next year.

Former captain Sourav Ganguly, who took over as the president of the BCCI last month, clarified that he was going to have a discussion with Dhoni over his retirement issue. Ganguly also conceded that the right to retire is Dhoni’s personal one.

With over 10,000 runs in the 50-over format, Dhoni has won India the world titles in both the 20 and 50-over formats since 2007. He has also won India the Champions Trophy besides a multilateral ODI tournament and bilateral T20I series in Australia.