As Team Mamata disintegrates, Sourav Ganguly clears the air on his ‘role’: ‘Did not approach Yusuf Pathan’

Kolkata – Former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly has vehemently denied a media report alleging he acted as an emissary for Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee to persuade Lok Sabha member Yusuf Pathan to resign his seat. The report suggested Banerjee intended to contest a by-election from Pathan's constituency.

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I was never requested/asked by Ms Mamata Banerjee to convey any message from her to Mr Yusuf Pathan, whether to step down from his parliamentary seat, as alleged or otherwise or at all.

In a signed statement issued on June 6, Ganguly dismissed the allegations as untrue and stated they were made in "reckless disregard of the truth." He specifically addressed a June 4 report in Anandabazar Patrika, which claimed Ganguly was approached to convey Banerjee's message to Pathan, and that Pathan had refused to step down. Ganguly asserted that he was never asked by Banerjee to relay any message to Pathan, nor did he ever contact Pathan with such a request.

"I never approached or contacted Mr Yusuf Pathan with any such or other request/message," Ganguly stated. "As such, the question of Mr Yusuf Pathan responding in the manner as alleged in the article does not and cannot arise." He further emphasized his consistent stance, saying he has "never been involved in political matters at any stage with any one concerned." Ganguly urged media outlets to avoid succumbing to rumors and speculation without verifying the accuracy of published information.

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I never approached or contacted Mr Yusuf Pathan with any such or other request/message. As such, the question of Mr Yusuf Pathan responding in the manner as alleged in the article does not and cannot arise.

Neither Yusuf Pathan nor the Trinamool Congress leadership has officially commented on the report. Pathan, a member of India's 2011 World Cup-winning cricket team, secured his Lok Sabha seat in the 2024 elections, defeating veteran Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. Ganguly and Pathan were also brief teammates in the Indian Premier League for the Kolkata Knight Riders.

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I have never been involved in political matters at any stage with any one concerned.

The report emerged amidst significant political challenges for Mamata Banerjee and the Trinamool Congress. Following the party's performance in the 2026 West Bengal assembly elections, where it secured only 80 out of 294 seats and Banerjee lost her own constituency, speculation has mounted about her potential return to electoral office. The party is also grappling with internal dissent, with reports of 58 of its 80 Members of the Legislative Assembly rebelling, leading to the assembly speaker recognizing an expelled legislator as the Leader of the Opposition, a move the TMC plans to contest legally.

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not to fall prey to rumours and speculations without verifying the correctness of the facts printed and published.