Thaindian News

New Delhi, May 3 (IANS) Former skipper of Kolkata Knight Riders Sourav Ganguly, who went unsold in the Indian Premier League auction early this year, will now play for Pune Warriors for the remainder of the fourth season and the team management says that “he is not playing for money, just to prove a point”.

Ganguly, a former India captain who had a base price of $400,000 in the January auction, will replace injured fast bowler Ashish Nehra. Pune Warriors director Abhijit Sarkar told IANS that Ganguly will be joining the team Tuesday.

“We came to know about Ashish Nehra’s injury and fitness report yesterday (Monday). The team has been battling a string of injuries to key players like Tim Paine, Angelo Mathews and now Nehra. So we went with the best option available after discussing with our coach and team management,” Sarkar told IANS.

“We hope his experience will help the team. He told us that he is not playing for money but to prove a point.”

Ganguly will be playing under Yuvraj Singh and Sarkar said the team has no problem with his inclusion in the side.

“Yuvraj has already spoken to Sourav. They are all professional cricketers and understand the need to adjust as per the requirements of the team,” he said.

Ganguly, however, is unlikely to play in the coming Pune Warriors match against Mumbai Indians Wednesday.

“He, however, will join the team for practice and training,” Sarkar said.