Pune Warriors had a bright start to the fifth edition of the Indian Premier League, but their fortunes have steadily taken a turn for the worse as the Sourav Ganguly-led team sits second from bottom in the points table with only four wins from 13 matches. Ganguly's own batting form has not been at the best and his captaincy tactics have also come under the scanner; as a result there is speculation that the former India captain may not feature in the Warriors' remaining three matches in IPL-5.
The Pune Warriors management wants Ganguly to take a call on his future in the remaining three matches. "If Ganguly himself offers to step down from captaincy and decides to sit out for the remaining three games, the owners will certainly be only too happy to accommodate. The general feeling is that, they have lost with Ganguly at helm and with new players, it can't get worse," a senior IPL official in the know of things was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
Should Ganguly not play in the Warriors' last three matches, either Australia Test and one-day captain Michael Clarke or Steve Smith will take over the reins of the team.
The fact that Bangladesh opening batsman Tamim Iqbal is yet to play a match and that Twenty20 specialist Alfonso Thomas has also not been given a regular run are being seen as tactical howlers on Ganguly's part as captain of the Warriors.
Ganguly has also been struggling to find his best form irrespective of whether he opens the innings or bats in the middle-order as his aggregate of 261 runs at a strike rate of 100.77 from 13 matches indicates.
Meanwhile, NDTV quoted chairman of the Sahara India Pariwar Subroto Roy as saying that Ganguly will be the franchise's mentor next season, adding "Ganguly wanted to be mentor now, we pushed him to play". Roy added Ganguly is a fine captain, but felt the Warriors find themselves in the position they are in because they lacked good Indian talent.
The Pune Warriors management wants Ganguly to take a call on his future in the remaining three matches. "If Ganguly himself offers to step down from captaincy and decides to sit out for the remaining three games, the owners will certainly be only too happy to accommodate. The general feeling is that, they have lost with Ganguly at helm and with new players, it can't get worse," a senior IPL official in the know of things was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
Should Ganguly not play in the Warriors' last three matches, either Australia Test and one-day captain Michael Clarke or Steve Smith will take over the reins of the team.
The fact that Bangladesh opening batsman Tamim Iqbal is yet to play a match and that Twenty20 specialist Alfonso Thomas has also not been given a regular run are being seen as tactical howlers on Ganguly's part as captain of the Warriors.
Ganguly has also been struggling to find his best form irrespective of whether he opens the innings or bats in the middle-order as his aggregate of 261 runs at a strike rate of 100.77 from 13 matches indicates.
Meanwhile, NDTV quoted chairman of the Sahara India Pariwar Subroto Roy as saying that Ganguly will be the franchise's mentor next season, adding "Ganguly wanted to be mentor now, we pushed him to play". Roy added Ganguly is a fine captain, but felt the Warriors find themselves in the position they are in because they lacked good Indian talent.
