Sourav Ganguly to have greater say in Dhawan, Pant's return to Indian team: Report

BCCI President Sourav Ganguly is taking part in national meetings to ensure that none of the senior players feel unsettled. Because of an infamous incident that involved former cricketer and national selector Mohinder Amarnath and ex-captain MS Dhoni, it was decided that the Board President will not have veto power when it comes to team selector. Former BCCI President N Srinivasan had used his veto power to stop MS Dhoni's removal as Indian captain in early 2012, after which this decision was taken.

ALSO READ | IPL 2020 could be held from September-November 2020 if T20 WC gets cancelled: Reports

IPL 2020: Sourav Ganguly backs Shikhar Shawan and Rishabh Pant

According to a leading sports publication, an anonymous source in the BCCI revealed that Sourav Ganguly was given permission to attend these meetings by the BCCI Apex Council and no one can challenge that legally. Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul started performing well for the team and Shikhar Dhawan's place in the team was in doubt. But Sourav Ganguly has backed Shikhar Dhawan's candidature.

ALSO READ | IPL 2020: Steve Smith likely to lose out on ₹12.5 crore deal for second time since 2018

The source added that Ganguly felt that a player with 17 centuries cannot be left out of the team because of injury or bad form. For Ganguly, a player of Dhawan's stature, if fit enough to play, should be given another opportunity to play for the team.

Sourav Ganguly also backed Rishabh Pant, who is under the scanner for his poor outings despite being given many chances to prove himself. The source opined that Sourav Ganguly has told his close associates that he won't let Indian cricket suffer because of Indian team management's lack of decisiveness.

ALSO READ | IPL 2020: Shikhar Dhawan posts a hilarious video of being quarantined in a typical Bollywood style

Interestingly, both Dhawan and Pant were mentees of Sourav Ganguly while playing for the Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2018. Recently, former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh named Sourav Ganguly as the best captain he had played under and blamed MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli of not giving the southpaw enough support. Sourav Ganguly has time and again made it clear that under him no player will be treated in an unfair way.

ALSO READ | IPL 2020: Shikhar Dhawan urges fans to follow his lead by donating to Prime Minister's Relief Fund

IMAGE COURTESY: SOURAV GANGULY TWITTER