KOLKATA: Frozen out at the players' auction, stymied by objections raised by three franchises, Sourav Ganguly is set to be third-time unlucky in his bid to play in the Indian Premier League's fourth edition.
They had ample chances to pick him up at the auction, but Kochi Tuskers management stood firm with other franchises and refused to touch him with a barge pole. With VVS Laxman, the only Indian batsman of repute in their side, the Kochi management soon realised their folly and were back knocking on BCCI's door, requesting permission to sign up the former captain, who was the only Indian player to remain unsold at the two-day auction in Bangalore on Jan 8 and 9.
However, with three franchises objecting to Kochi's move, the Prince of Kolkata could not become the King of Kochi. The new franchises were left rueing their missed chance at the auction, and Sourav, desperate for an opportunity, was left hoping to step in if any top player pulled up injured.
As luck would have it, Kochi's Australian all-rounder Steven Smith, who played in the ODIs against Bangladesh, has now pulled out of IPL to undergo surgery on his injured ankle and the new franchise is keen to sign up the former KKR icon, but the tournament rules bar them from doing so.
As per IPL rules, a team can replace an injured player if he is out for an entire season, but can only opt for someone with the same base price or lower. As Kochi bought Smith at his base price of $200,000, they are obliged to pick any player from the auction pool with the same base price or lower even though they have plenty of money left in their kitty to afford Sourav's $400,000 price tag.
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They had ample chances to pick him up at the auction, but Kochi Tuskers management stood firm with other franchises and refused to touch him with a barge pole. With VVS Laxman, the only Indian batsman of repute in their side, the Kochi management soon realised their folly and were back knocking on BCCI's door, requesting permission to sign up the former captain, who was the only Indian player to remain unsold at the two-day auction in Bangalore on Jan 8 and 9.
However, with three franchises objecting to Kochi's move, the Prince of Kolkata could not become the King of Kochi. The new franchises were left rueing their missed chance at the auction, and Sourav, desperate for an opportunity, was left hoping to step in if any top player pulled up injured.
As luck would have it, Kochi's Australian all-rounder Steven Smith, who played in the ODIs against Bangladesh, has now pulled out of IPL to undergo surgery on his injured ankle and the new franchise is keen to sign up the former KKR icon, but the tournament rules bar them from doing so.
As per IPL rules, a team can replace an injured player if he is out for an entire season, but can only opt for someone with the same base price or lower. As Kochi bought Smith at his base price of $200,000, they are obliged to pick any player from the auction pool with the same base price or lower even though they have plenty of money left in their kitty to afford Sourav's $400,000 price tag.
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