Sourav Ganguly takes a dig at Salman Rushdie visit cancellation

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly on Saturday took an indirect dig at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the controversy surrounding Booker prize-winning author Salman Rushdie's cancelled visit to Kolkata.

Addressing a gathering at the Kolkata Literary Meet on the sidelines of a book launch on former skipper Nawab Pataudi, Ganguly said he was yet to write a book so as to avoid frontpage controversy.

"Because I don't want a frontpage photograph the next morning like it was of Salman Rushdie today. And he's not being allowed to enter the book fair. I generally tend to keep away from it," Ganguly said about today's big story in the newspapers.

"It's just the feeling that there is no point writing if I can't write everything. Sometimes, you are forced not to write everything," he said to a question what had made him avoid penning an autobiography even years after calling it quits from the game.

"May be at some stage, the autobiography would come but I don't know when. A biography is about telling the truth to the world," he added.

Rushdie had cancelled his visit to the literary meet alleging Mamata had ordered police to block his arrival in Kolkata.

Replying to a "request" by one among the audience to become the brand ambassador of sports in Bengal, Ganguly quipped "you have to make this request to Didi not me".

Ganguly also spoke about the secret of his successful stint as India captain."