Former Team India captain Sourav Ganguly, who found no takers at the recent IPL IV auction, was a victim of "dirty politics", a West Bengal minister said on Thursday.
"Dirty politics was played by the private players during the two-day IPL player auction in Bangalore recently," Urban Development Minister Asok Bhattacharya alleged.
"It's most unfair for a player of Sourav's stature. Throughout his career he had been a victim of conspiracy, otherwise he could have turned up for another couple of years for the country," the minister said.
"Has dada, my most favourite cricketer, not been the most successful Indian cricket captain till date?" the minister, who enjoys personal rapport with the former Kolkata Knight Riders icon, asked.
Ganguly, who captained KKR in the inaugural and 2009 season, was completely ignored in two rounds of players' auction for the fourth edition that started on April 8.
KKR co-owner Shah Rukh Khan on Wednesday said leaving out Ganguly from the team was a decision taken by the "cricketing brains" of the franchise and not by him.
