Sourav Ganguly's first train ride after 16 years leads to a harrowing confusion

After being a part of the herculean task of appointing the new Indian Head Coach, CAB President Sourav Ganguly decided to take a train ride, after nearly 16 years, to Balurghat from Sealdah to unveil his 8 feet long bronze statue. However, his journey started off on the wrong foot as he was involved in a confusion regarding his berth in Padatik Express. As a result, Dada had to be shifted to a different compartment after he found a fellow passenger seated in where he had initially been offered a seat.

Ganguly, along with CAB secretary Abhishek Damiya (son of former BCCI President late Jagmohan Dalmiya), were en route to Balurghat to attend the statue unveiling event. A video which was filmed during the entire confusion has gone viral since. In the video, Dada can be seen patiently waiting outside his 1st class compartment as police officials and security personnel were involved in a tiff with the resident passenger. The fellow passenger did not compromise to Ganguly’s reputation and remained adamant about his place in the coach.

Sourav Ganguly later was moved to a different compartment, even after verifying his berth number in the chart adjacent to the entrance of the coach. The PNR number “6103472108” alongside shows that the seat had been reserved till Malda Town in a first-class compartment. It is still not clear whether the error was on behalf of the Railways or Ganguly who entered the wrong compartment.

Choosing the train as the mode of transport has been trending amongst cricketers these days. Lately, former Indian captain MS Dhoni too boarded the train to travel with his Jharkhand teammates for a Ranji Trophy game. However, the drama involved in that journey was nothing compared to that of Dada. That said, all’s well which ends well as Sourav Ganguly would be happy to see his 8-foot long statue at Balurghat. He tweeted a picture of him unveiling the sculpture later.

Here’s the Video