Don’t have political affiliation, ‘will go wherever I want’: Sourav on Spain visit

KOLKATA: Ex-Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly hit out at the critics regarding his announcement in Spain over setting up a steel factory in Bengal. Ganguly accompanied Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on her trip to Spain, which was aimed at attracting foreign investment in the state.

He asserted that he is an “individual” with no political attachment and he can choose to go wherever he pleases. To him, Delhi, Kolkata and Spain hold equal significance.

Speaking on the sidelines of the press meet of ‘800’, a biopic on Sri Lankan cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan on Thursday at a city hotel, Ganguly said: “I am an individual. I am not an MP, or MLA. I have no political attachment. I will go wherever I feel like. I am not answerable to anyone. I am a public person and I will do whatever I want to as long as I do the right things, and don’t hurt people.”

The former BCCI chairman said he gets invitations from around the world and visits programmes in Delhi and Kolkata too. “There’s no difference between Spain, Kolkata and Delhi. I go wherever I am invited and I feel I should go. Everybody goes… what’s the big deal. It’s only here, we see people talking about all these. We don’t live in an animal world, we live in a society where you go and meet people. You meet people, you talk to people but that does not mean anything,” he said.

When asked about his steel plant in West Midnapore, Ganguly said the project will be done within 16-20 months. Meanwhile, Ganguly also said Ayushmaan Khurrana is being considered to play the lead in his biopic.

Talking highly about Muralitharan, who is regarded as one of the greatest spinners, Ganguly said: “He is an absolute champion. Kolkata is crazy about cricket and I will surely watch the film.”

Oscar-winning film ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ actor Madhur Mittal will be seen portraying the role of the Sri Lankan cricket legend in his biopic. The film will be released on October 6 in Tamil, Hindi and Telugu. Muralitharan and Madhur also visited Salt Lake Shiksha Niketan School to promote their movie and interacted with the children.

Muralitharan said both Ganguly and he played as rivals but ‘Dada’ has always been his great friend off

the field.