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PM Modi dials Sourav Ganguly; angioplasty likely for 2 more arteries for BCCI chief
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, a number of cabinet ministers rushed to the hospital on Saturday. BJP leaders also inquired about Ganguly’s health. Union home minister Amit Shah told state BJP leaders that the Centre would make available all facilities required for Ganguly’s treatment.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday afternoon called up former India cricket captain and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly to inquire about his health following the coronary angioplasty he underwent on Saturday.
People aware of the details said that Modi told Ganguly that if required the former captain would be flown abroad by the Centre.
Several political leaders, including Keshav Prasad Maurya, deputy chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, who is in Bengal to campaign for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), also visited Ganguly at Woodlands Hospital.
Ganguly, 48, was stable and had breakfast and lunch, said doctors. He underwent coronary angioplasty at 3.00 pm on Saturday at Woodlands where he was detected with three blocked arteries.
The percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCS) and stenting in the right coronary artery was done through radial route. Revasculation to the left anterior descending artery and obtuse marginal artery will be done later.
Dr Rupali Basu, MD and CEO, Woodlands, told the media that although by-pass surgery is an option in cases where patients have three blocked arteries, the doctors are most likely to go for angioplasty.
The doctors will take a final call on Monday. Eminent heart surgeon Dr Devi Shetty has been requested by Ganguly’s family to guide the team of doctors with his opinion.
The authorities said there is a history of heart disease in Ganguly’s family.
Ganguly, recognized as one of the finest captains Team India has had, was working out at the gym in his home when he felt unwell and dizzy around 11 am on Saturday.
Dr Basu said in a statement on Saturday midnight that Ganguly arrived at the emergency department around 1 pm. He had discomfort in the chest and had vomited while working out.
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, a number of cabinet ministers rushed to the hospital on Saturday. BJP leaders also inquired about Ganguly’s health. Union home minister Amit Shah told state BJP leaders that the Centre would make available all facilities required for Ganguly’s treatment.
Ganguly is the most prominent public figure whose name has been doing the rounds in political circles of Bengal as the BJP’s probable chief ministerial face for the crucial assembly polls due in a few months. Ganguly, however, brushed aside the speculation although he never categorically ruled out the possibility of joining politics. The speculations were fanned by the fact that Amit Shah’s son Jay Shah is the secretary of the BCCI.
On Sunday, former minster and senior CPI(M) leader Asok Bhattacharya and TMC Lok Sabha member Saugata Roy alleged that Ganguly fell ill because of the pressure BJP leaders were putting on him. BJP state president Dilip Ghosh and national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya brushed aside the allegations. “This is baseless. Dada is loved by all. Let us pray for his early recovery,” said Ghosh.
Ganguly has been the BCCI president since October 2019. His elder brother Snehasish was also a first-class cricketer and is now an administrator at the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB).
