Misbah exceeded our budget: Sourav

Indo Asian News Service

Kolkata, March 11: Kolkata Knight Riders captain Sourav Ganguly Tuesday said they couldn't include Pakistan's Misbah-ul-Haq in their team due to budgetary constraints.
'We wanted Misbah initially, but then our pockets did not permit us,' Ganguly told reporters at the launch of the team here.

'We have six international stars and we will find it difficult to field all of them. We are happy with our team and hope it will come off well,' he added.

The Kolkata team boasts of Ricky Ponting, Chris Gayle, Brendon McCullum, Tatenda Taibu, Umar Gul and David Hussey.

Sourav also reposed his faith in the domestic cricketers like Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Sourashis Lahiri, Wriddhiman Saha and Rohan Banerjee.

'We have a fine breed of domestic players. And we think we will have a fine team if it plays to its potential,' he said.

Asked if the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) stalemate would be addressed, he said, 'Sure it will be and sorted out amicably. We will sit in a day or two and sort out the matter.'

The rival faction in the CAB has cornered the ruling group demanding 70 percent of the share of tickets in Eden and the matter remains unresolved till date.

Asked, who was the strongest opponent among the seven other teams, Ganguly said, 'The game can be scrutinised more when it is longer. All the eight teams in the competition are dangerous and competitive and we must play good strong cricket to win.'

'But I still feel, Twenty20 is about the fitness, skill and form for those 20 overs on that given day. So it will be hard to predict,' he added.

About his combination with Shah Rukh Khan and John Buchanan, he said, 'I have known Shah Rukh for a long time now and he is a good friend and John is one of the best coaches and hope we will do well as a team.'

© Copyright 2008 Indo Asian News Service.