Team SCG members Kunal Sarkar & Ashima Nath drove all the way from Pune to Baroda, to get an exclusive interview with Sourav Ganguly on the 3rd Day of the Bengal vs. Baroda Ranji Match. Following are some excerpts from the interview:

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Q. How is the injury?

DADA: It’s not very good. Hamstring is a bit sore.

Q. Is it the ligament?

DADA: I think it’s a grade-1 tear.

Q. So rest is the only way?

DADA: Yes. I think a month long (rest). In any case I’ll be in Australia so I won’t play.

Kunal: I was calculating, more than thousand messages every couple of minutes asking about your health. We really have a tough time answering, because we normally keep ourselves aware so that was one of the prime reasons, why we came here, is to ask you these questions.

Q. So would you continue playing after a month?

DADA: No, No, I’ll next play in the one days for Bengal. So that’s in February. So I have some time off. I am going to watch India play in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth & Adelaide, so that will be nice.

Q. 3 wickets for 1 run, 60 not out. People are asking – are you going to play for India against Australia?

DADA: Oh No, No, No. (Laughs) I am going to watch India play against Australia.

Q. What memories does the 144 at Brisbane bring to you?

DADA: I have got lot of good memories of Australia, that tour of 2003 – not just 144, also we won in Adelaide, It was a very strong Australian team. We actually dominated that series which was such a good thing to do. Then we came back in 2007, when we won in Perth. So Australia has good loads of happy memories for India & me. So hopefully the boys can play well & do well this series because this is probably the weakest Australian team since 1991,that is the first time I toured Australia. Since then we have been through the eras of Waugh, Ponting, Lee, Mcgrath, Warne. And when you see this team, obviously you feel this is the chance we can beat them.

Q. So any particular suggestions you have for MS.Dhoni or his team?

DADA: They are a good side. They have to stay fit, bowlers will have to stay fit which is important, it is a long, long tour. It is a long series for India. Lot of cricket, a lot of traveling, it a big country, Australia. So for them it will be important to stay fit.

Q. Talking about MS.Dhoni, we recently learned that he said – He wants to consider rather, re-consider whether he wants to play the next world cup. Any comments about that?

DADA: It’s too long a time. I think we should not see much into that statement, if at all he has made that. We shouldn’t worry about such statements, as they keep changing. If he keeps playing well, he keeps getting runs; I don’t see why he cannot as he is just a young man. He is just 30 years old.

Q. But critics are saying he is under pressure to continue the winning streak over a world cup..

DADA: Well that’s a good pressure to have. (Laughs) You won a world cup & people expect you to continue it. That is a pressure any captain would like. But for him, just like any other captain it will be a test overseas. For all Indian Captains the biggest test was when we went abroad. And its going to be the same for him in the tour of Australia.

Q. Any kind of repeatance you expect in the tour of Australia like England?

DADA: I hope not. That’s what I said, the fitness of key bowlers are very important for India’s success.

Q. Talking of bowlers, Dinda has been really impressive. He picked another 5 wickets for Bengal. You have commented that he should be a part of the Indian Team..

DADA: Yeah, He should be. I am sure if there are injuries, people are not fit, he will be the one next in line because he is the best fast bowler in the country other than the guys who are on the tour.  I think he is the best (right now in India). He is fit, he is strong, runs in all day, he has got a whole lot of wickets this year (for Bengal). Dinda is the man.

Q. Recently there was a comment from you about Chappell and Dravid. And people actually made all different things out of that..

DADA: I think the comment about Dravid was not put in properly. What I wanted to say was, He (Dravid) did not want to drop things against Chappell, after what happened in Zimbabwe and I feel that was right. But in terms of what I said about Chappell is absolutely true and I feel that.

Q. So any particular message for Dravid fans because there has been rift between fans of you & Dravid?

DADA:  I wish he (Dravid) does well, he has been in terrific form this year & hope he continues.

Q. You are the King of Comebacks. How do you keep proving your critics wrong every time?

DADA:  I just try & play well every time I walk out to play whether is for Bengal, India or any other team. I just try and do well & I keep it simple. I don’t worry about anything else. I just worry about my performance. I have got tremendous faith in my ability and that’s the reason I keep performing like that.

Q. SCGanguly.Com has been the official information source for anything & everything about of Sourav Ganguly.

DADA: I’ll see it for often now. Actually normally, I don’t click onto it. I am not a big reader. So I normally don’t click, I am a newspaper headline person. I will check on it more now days.

Ashima: A lot of the younger generation of fans Dada, are following you on social networking forums and we are trying to reach out to them. And we are hoping for your support and blessing..

Dada: Yes, Yes. As long as the stories are true & the news is correct I will always support you.

Kunal: We kinda have a series of Editors who actually publish stories and what they think about you. We have got editors from all over the world. You will be surprised a big chunk of your fans belong to US. Our website is the second most viewed is the US after India.

We have more than a lakh people visiting the website every day.

Dada: Wow! It will be a lakh & a one from tomorrow.

Kunal: That will actually be 2 lakhs!

Q. Apart from Tiwari, Dinda & Saha who do you think we should watch out for?

DADA: We have to wait & see. It’s still early days; I hope these three guys do well for India, for them it’s also early days in the international area. Manoj has done wonderfully well to get to the hundred against West Indies, and I hope he continues his international career. I have got tremendous hope in Dinda, because I have seen him bowl this year. The amount of fitness he has maintained, so he is one bowler I would be really looking forward to doing well for India. Saha is good, but he is little behind because it will be hard to replace M.S.Dhoni. But it’s good that all three of them are in reckoning, it good for Bengal cricket.

Q. Do you enjoy the role of a commentator?

DADA: It’s something which I don’t worry too much about; I enjoy it because it allows me to watch a bit of cricket. India’s tour of England is always good, Australia will be good cricket, so it allows me to watch a bit for cricket. But it is not something that I will take up as a full time profession.

Q. Any plans for you to come down to Pune as you will be playing for PWI in the next IPL?

DADA: Yes, we will come down and make sure everything is right and hopefully Pune plays well because they are a good side. We are trying to get in some changes and hopefully we will play much better this year. It is a side which has a lot of good players.

Q. Will you be captaining the side or be the mentor?

DADA: Present moment, I know I’ll be playing. Whether I am going to captain or not, I don’t know.

Q. You spoke of Education as passion, what are your future plans?

DADA: Education is a big passion of mine, Work in Siliguri is already on and hopefully in Kolkata we will start shortly.

Q. So are you looking at it as a school?

DADA: Schools, management institutions. We will take ahead with time. Let’s start somewhere and see how far we go, how quickly I learn the work.

Q. Wherever you play, you get huge fan support. People are actually cheering Bengal against their home state?

DADA: That’s the reason we have done so well in this game (against Baroda). It’s like a home game for us and hopefully we can play well tomorrow morning & get all 6 points.

Q. Any message for the fans?

DADA:  Thanks for all your support all throughout, I am really touched by both of you (Kunal & Ashima) – you have driven 9hrs to come & take an interview, it’s probably the longest somebody has come to take an interview. It’s great to know that you still give people lot of news & information about me and all kudos to you for you hard work.