Sourav Ganguly to play charity match with Diego Maradona

Former India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly will play a charity match with the football legend and 1986 Fifa World Cup winner, former Argentina captain Diego Maradona. The exhibition match will be played on October 2 which will be called ‘Match for Unity’ in Barasat, Kolkata.

Apart from Ganguly, former India hockey captain Dhanraj Pillay, popular Bengali actor Abir Chatterjee and cricketers Manoj Tiwary and Deep Dasgupta have confirmed their availability for the charity match to be played, according to organisers. The game will be played at the Aditya School of Sports in Barasat. Maradona is expected to be in Kolkata between October 2 and 4.

Match would be played seriously

“The non-football stars will be introduced one by one after the first 30 minutes maybe. We want serious football to be played in the first half hour. The idea is to give everyone a chance to rub shoulders with Maradona,” Satadru Dutta, a partner in the firm promoting Maradona’s trip, told IANS on Wednesday.

Mohun Bagan player Sony Norde and the great former players of the club Chima Okorie, Jose Ramirez Barreto and Odafa Okolie will also be rubbing shoulders with the Argentine legend.

Former Indian footballers Prasun Banerjee, Carlton Chapman and Dipendu Biswas will also take part in the match. Reports suggest that former India captain Bhaichung Bhutia has also been approached and the organisers are awaiting his response.

Ganguly’s contribution to Indian cricket

Sourav Ganguly has been hailed as one of the best captains in world cricket. Even after his retirement, he has been associated with Indian cricket in every other way. He is the president of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) has been the crucial member of CAC (Cricket Advisory Committee) and was responsible for the appointment of Anil Kumble and Ravi Shastri as the last two head coaches of the national senior’s team.