When a Test is at the Eden Gardens in two days, having a word with Sourav Ganguly is difficult than getting Sachin Tendulkar back among runs. A quick lunch turned into a string of small talk with Trevor Morgan, East Bengal’s English football coach, former cricketers, present-day administrators, a curator, an actress and a businessman. This after a media scrum left in its wake a TV journalist injured in the head, a broken barricade and an elderly gentleman looking dazed after being pushed to the ground.

The run drought notwithstanding, Ganguly is sure Sachin is far from being surplus to India’s requirements for now.

“Let people talk, they always do. This team still needs Sachin,” Ganguly told HT on Monday. That’s because Ganguly felt while some Indian batsmen are still thin on experience, others aren’t scoring consistently enough to make Sachin dispensable. 

Ganguly said he is confident the hosts would win the series. Last in a list of speakers which included Tendulkar and MS Dhoni, Ganguly hoped the little master would get a century at the Eden. On stage, Tendulkar didn't flinch.