Former Indian cricket skipper Sourav Ganguly today came in support of seamer Irfan
Pathan and hoped that the Baroda all-rounder will prove his fitness, Sahara Samay
sources said.
Addressing a press conference here, Ganguly said that Pathan’s
selection for the World Cup beginning on March 13 in Caribbean is justified.
Earlier, the chief national selector Dilip Vengsarkar
said that Pathan have to prove his fitness before March 1.
Ganguly also supported the inclusion of little known sides
in the World Cup, saying that the experience of playing against stronger teams
would put them in good stead.
"It is the duty of stronger teams to suport these teams
to do better. If you do not play against these teams, they wlll not get exposure,"
Ganguly told newspersons here.
Ganguly did not agree that the presence of sides like Bermuda,
Canada, Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands would
rob the World Cup of its lustre.
"I don't think so. We are playing these teams only in the preliminaries,"
he replied.
Ganguly said India too had gone through the same stages of
development as these sides taking part in the coming World Cup.
"We (India) also went through such phases when we started," he said.
Ganguly also felt that the established sides would not be lacking in motivation
when they square up against the minnows.
"The event World Cup itself is enough to get motivated,"
he said.
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