Sourav Ganguly may not be fit to play against Bangalore on Saturday. Who will lead the side in his absence?




Brendon McCullum!

The Kiwi had just played his first match against Delhi in this edition.

Sources said there was a suggestion that the Kiwi opener might be dropped when it was found that he would not be able to play the first nine matches. But he was in the good books of the team management, mainly because of his much-discussed 158 runs at the inaugural match in 2008, which is still considered as one of the the best innings of the IPL.

Moreover, that innings was played in Bangalore, where Kolkata will be playing against the same opponent on Saturday. So, if Ganguly is not fit enough to play the match, McCullum will be preferred to lead the Kolkata outfit since he was the captain of the team in the second edition in South Africa.

Murali Karthik is unofficially the vice captain of the side. But the spinner is injured. He could not play against Delhi due to back problems. Although he had travelled to Bangalore with the team, it is not sure whether he would be fit to play the game.

Chris Gayle, another international captain (West Indies) is there, too. He is playing well, is in good form with the bat and his occasional off-spinners are helping the team.

But McCullum is ahead in the captaincy race.

Sourav needed a wheel chair to carry him from the car to the lift at his home, while returning from the Eden Gardens after the Delhi match. He was not able to walk even since the pain was unbearable. Immediately, the team physio Andrew Leipus was informed. And Sourav spent the entire Thursday, applying ice on the injury.

The right ankle was damaged during the match where he was adjudged man of the match for his fifty-plus knock, a wonderful catch and a run out of Gautam Gambhir, the Delhi captain.

However, Ganguly could not feel it during the match. Later, when he came back to the dressing room and had his shoes off, the pain began to worry him.

But is there any chance that he would not travel to Bangalore?

Sourav said, "How can I stay away from the team? I have to be there. The tournament is still an open affair and we have a good chance to be in the last four. It's an important match." He is all set to leave for Bangalore on Friday.

It is an important match since both the teams have five wins from 10 games and a win against Anil Kumble's team can be decisive for Sourav Ganguly's men.

However, he is yet to rule himself out, although his comment on the chance of playing the 20-20 match against Bangalore is, "fifty-fifty" only!