Practised more for show than in cricket: Sourav

Kolkata, June 4 (IANS) Former India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly, who will begin hosting the Bengali version of hit quiz show 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire' from Monday, said he practised for it more than he did for his sport.

'For the first time in my life I have rehearsed for so long. For matches I would practice at the nets for four hours but for this show I rehearsed for six hours,' Ganguly said here.

Asked to compare himself with Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan who have hosted 'Kaun Bangega Crorepati' (KBC), the Hindi version of the game show, Ganguly said: 'They did the show in their styles and I would do it in mine. We all are different and can't be compared. How I fare is up to you to decide when the programmes is telecast'.

Asked how would he fare if he participated in the show, Ganguly said: 'Frankly speaking, I don't think I would get any of the answers right.'

However, famed quizmaster and brain behind the show Siddharth Basu said: 'He (Ganguly) is trying to be humble. But in the mock run of the show, he answered all the questions. He won a crore.'

On choosing Ganguly to host the show, Basu said: 'For the host, one has to be a quick thinker, a street smart. Ganguly is both. The viewers will get to see a sportsperson in action - how he deals with a given situation, since he is not from acting background, he will bring a fresh approach.'

Ganguly ran into trouble after he signed up for this programme when Zee Bangla TV channel sued him for breach of contract. Ganguly previously hosted a game show titled 'Dadagiri' aired on that channel.

Later, the matter was resolved and the court ordered Ganguly to shoot for 'Ke Hobe Banglar Kotipati' (KHBK). 'All I can say is that I got an order from the court to do this (KHBK) show, which means I have done something right. I thank Zee (Bangla) for allowing me to do Dadagiri for two years. It was fantastic,' said Ganguly on the issue.

Meanwhile, a Bhojpuri version of the game show, to be hosted by Bollywood actor Shatrughan Sinha, is also slotted to be aired on the same day.