Whatmore refuses to comment on Ganguly exclusion

Kolkata Knight Riders coach, Dav Whatmore chose not to speak on Sourav Ganguly being snubbed at the IPL auction, but the burly Australian is happy with the set of players his franchise has picked for the next edition of the Twenty20 event.

Kolkata Knight Riders coach, Dav Whatmore chose not to speak on Sourav Ganguly being snubbed at the IPL auction, but the burly Australian is happy with the set of players his franchise has picked for the next edition of the Twenty20 event.

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When his reaction was sought on Ganguly, Whatmore said, "I have my personal views but I would like them to remain with me."

Ganguly, who was the leading run scorer for KKR last year, did not find any buyer at his base price of USD 400,000. The former India skipper did not even get a second look when 28 unsold players were brought back in the pool on day two of the auction.

KKR signed up Gautam Gambhir, Yusuf Pathan and Jacques Kallis offering them hefty pay cheques and Whatmore said it was important that stars performed.

"All the teams have great stars but we have to try and turn these into good and consistent performances," Whatmore, who coached Sri Lanka to World Cup glory in 1996, told 'ESPN-Star.com'.

"We are very happy with the players we got and the team we have as of now. Everything went very well for us during the auctions and we are thankful for the line up we have," he added.

The fourth edition of the Indian Premier League will begin on April 8.