Pune franchise keen on talking to Sourav Ganguly about a mentor's role

Those who had hopes of Sourav Ganguly being roped in by an Indian Premier League franchise on Day Two of the player auction here yesterday, were disappointed.

An SMS campaign against Ganguly's former team Kolkata Knight Riders kicked off almost immediately after it was confirmed that the southpaw would have no role to perform as a player in the IPL.

"I am Kolkata and I want Dada (Sourav Ganguly) in KKR. No Dada, no KKR. Let's protest and boycott all KKR matches at Eden for humiliating Dada," read a text message.

How did this go down with the men from Cricket Association of Bengal who call the shots at the Eden Gardens which will host several KKR games?

The tension could be felt in their voices. CAB Joint Secretary Biswarup Dey just didn't want to utter a word when MiD DAY asked him if Ganguly's absence would keep the spectators away.

It is learnt that Sahara Pune, who Ganguly has good personal relations with, will speak to the former Indiau00a0 captain about coming on board as a mentor to their team. "Yes, we can offer him a mentor's position, but first we have to know whether he will want such a role. Only then, we can discuss it," said a team source.

Meanwhile, KKR CEO Venky Mysore said Ganguly was welcome to come on board in another role. "We have the highest regard for Dada. If he wants to join us for the betterment of KKR's future, he is most welcome. I am sure, Sourav thinks about KKR's future and we are looking forward to an association," said Mysore.

Ganguly was in no mood to talk about anything when contacted in Kolkata.