Summary Ganguly said the act of these players had tarnished the image of the game.
New Delhi (Web Desk) - Terming S Sreesanth as stupid for being involved in spot-fixing, former India captain Sourav Ganguly has said the players should be banned for life if found guilty in the controversy.
"Yes, I am pretty disappointed and I am angry also. Whatever happened there, they have to prove it. If they found guilty, they should be banned for life," Ganguly said while speaking to CNN-IBN.
"I think nobody can prevent this corruption other than the player himself. In our era of [Sachin] Tendulkar, [Rahul] Dravid, [VVS] Laxman, [Anil] Kumble, Harbhajan [Singh], Zaheer [Khan], [Virender] Sehwag, no one could put a finger on them. It s all about an individual. Nobody can force you to do that. Nobody can force you to bowl a no ball.
Ultimately, at the end of the day, if someone comes and say to bowl a no ball ... just say I am not going to do it ... whatever you do. So, it is completely up to the players. So the players should be banned for life if found guilty," he added.
Ganguly said although the act of these players had tarnished the image of the game, there are many other players who work very hard to do well. "No, no ... it s not cool cricket. You don t need to mentor Dravid, Sachin or Laxman. It differs on individual to individual. The way [Ajit] Chandila and whosever name is on the television have done it. But there are other younger players who are not doing it, and who are actually giving everything for the franchise.
"You look at Ambati Rayudu, look at [Laxmipathy] Balaji, you look at Manish Pandey for Pune Warriors. They give everything they have. The players like [MS] Dhoni, Dravid, Tendulkar, Kumble, Khan and Sehwag, who bring the Indian cricket on the map with their zeal on the field.
"And there are some stupid people who do it. But I am very upset with Sreesanth because he is such a sheer waste of talent. With his talent, actually he could have played ... for India. I would say.....it s a lack of commonsense.
Ganguly also sympathized with Rahul Dravid, who is captaining Rajasthan Royals in IPL 6 and who has led his team from the front with both bat and as a leader. "I am really feeling sorry for Dravid."
