Former India captain Sourav Ganguly is not surprised at the women's cricket team's decision to drop senior most player Mithali Raj for its World T20 semifinal against England, saying he faced the same fate when he was at the peak of his career.
Mithali, the ODI captain, had two back-to-back fifties against Pakistan and Ireland but was rested for the final league game against Australia due to a knee issue and also didn't feature in India's eight-wicket semifinal loss to England.
"No! I also have also sat in the dugout after captaining India. When I saw Mithali Raj being dropped, I said 'Welcome to the group'," Ganguly said.
"Captains are asked to sit, so just do it. I have done it in Faisalabad. I didn't play an ODI game for 15 months when I was probably the best performer in one-day cricket. It happens in life. The best in the world are at times shown the door," the 46-year-old said recalling the 2006 second Test against Pakistan.
Ganguly, however, said it's not the end of the road for Mithali.
"You should always remember you are best because you did something and there's an opportunity again. So I am not too disappointed seeing Mithali Raj being asked to sit out. I have not been disappointed to see the reactions on the ground," he said.
"But I am disappointed because India lost the semifinals because I thought they had the team to go the distance. It happens as they say there's no guarantee in life."
Commenting on World Cup winning former Indian skipper MS Dhoni, who's form is on the wane of late, Ganguly said he still has the power in him to hit big sixes and should be allowed to go on a high.
"He's a phenomenal cricketer. But just like everyone else he has to perform. I wish him all the luck because we want champions to go on a high. I still feel he can hit the ball in the stands," Ganguly said.