Kolkata cricket fans back Ganguly as KKR skipper

New Delhi: Kolkata Knight Riders owner Shah Rukh Khan has urged the fans not to over-react after coach John Buchanan made public his idea to experiment with multiple captains. The idea was seen by cricket fans as targeting skipper Sourav Ganguly.

The fans reacted angrily and supported Ganguly as the captain.

"Sourav Ganguly deserves it (captaincy). He has been the greatest captain India has ever produced. No second thoughts about," said one fan.

Another fan added, "If you talk about the ability, he certainly has the ability to be the captain of any team, anywhere in the world. He has been the most successful captain India has ever produced." He was supported by his friend who said, "I don't think Sourav Ganguly can be replaced. It will be a loss for the Knight Riders."

If the move to have multiple captains is implemented, it will surely cost Ganguly his position of pre-eminence in the team.

It wasn't surprising as the city media, both print and television, took on to the issue right away.

Headlines and discussions kept the city fans buzzing, in a direct throwback to the infamous Ganguly-Chappell spat that had seen widespread demonstrations in the City of Joy.

But the experts think Shah Rukh's filmi charisma will help script a fairytale solution.

"Shah Rukh like a real film hero would step-in in the last scene and would rescue the heroine in distress and save the face of Kolkata Knight Riders," says Ananda Bazar Patrika Sports Editor Gautam Bhattacharya.

While the Knight Riders team management seems to be taken in by the Buchanan doctrine, Ganguly doesn't seem too convinced.

"Everyone can have views. I can jump off and say we need four coaches, 10 coaches. Tomorrow Shah Rukh can say we need three owners. So these are all opinions and at the end of the day we will have to see what works for the team," says Ganguly.

It will be interesting to see how team owner Shah Rukh Khan sorts out this issue. The IPL happening in South Africa might help implementing the Buchanan method of captains-by-turn but King Khan knows the value of the city connect.

After all, he can't afford to lose his fan base in the city that swears by him and Ganguly too.

(With inputs from Sukarno Sen and Sanjeeb Mukherjea)