Kolkata release five domestic players
Posted on May 13, 2008 at 12:36 | Updated May 13, 2008 at 17:42
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Tags: cricket, ipl, kolkata
Kolkata: The Kolkata IPL team has decided to release five of its contracted players — Ranadeb Bose, Sourashish Lahiri, Rohan Banerjee, Cheteshwar Pujara and Yashpal Singh by Sunday.
According to the team management, coach John Buchanan has decided that the players who have not played in the Indian Premier League (IPL) till date will be released, since they have little chance of playing in the remaining six matches.
Buchanan, it is learnt, now wants to concentrate on the 16 players who have played in the IPL.
The five contracted players, however, will not have to forfeit from their contracted amounts.
Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, whose Red Chillies Entertainment owns the franchise, said: "You need to construct the team with lesser amount of people and continue with it because it delays the matter of practice."
Bose, for one, was quite taken aback when he spoke to CNN-IBN about his release. "I'm disappointed. Obviously, it came to me as a surprise because I wasn't expecting something like this. But you have got to accept what they decide."
The tall medium-pacer, who was on India's tour to England last summer, also lamented not being given enough opportunities by his Kolkata team, which is led by his Bengal teammate Sourav Ganguly.
"I wasn't travelling with the side, we didn't have good practice sessions or gym sessions. So I thought it was better that I go back home and start playing cricket for my club and also do some training. But I never said that I'm happy, obviously I'm not. I'm highly disappointed. And secondly, I never, ever went up to anybody and asked for a release. I have never done that. So I was obviously surprised," Bose added.
Kolkata's team director Joy Bhattacharya, however, clarified that the decision was solely taken by coach John Buchanan and it had nothing to do with cost-cutting, nor circumstances similar to what the Bangalore franchise has been facing.
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