Waiting for Ganguly

Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, and Sourav Ganguly will arrive late. His aversion for punctuality made news when he kept Steve Waugh waiting at the toss during Australia’s 2001 tour and, in Bengal’s ongoing Ranji Trophy match against Saurashtra, Ganguly kept his team-mates waiting at Eden Gardens for over an hour.

This time, however, it was not to irk anybody for Ganguly was receiving treatment for a back spasm he suffered in the morning. The umpires did not allow a substitute and Bengal fielded with ten men for an hour and were even reduced to nine at one point when bowler Ashok Dinda went off the field for an over.