Sourav Ganguly rejects claims of mediating between Mamata Banerjee and Yusuf Pathan

Former India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly on Saturday (June 6) rejected a media report as “baseless” which claimed that he had acted as a go-between for the Trinamool Congress (TMC) to persuade Baharampur MP Yusuf Pathan to vacate his Lok Sabha seat for party chief Mamata Banerjee.

Denial of mediation claim

Issuing a signed statement dated June 6 and addressed to media organisations, Ganguly categorically denied having any role in such an exercise. Referring to a front-page report published by Anandabazar Patrika on June 4, he said the allegations involving him were “in reckless disregard of the truth”.

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The report had claimed that Banerjee wanted to contest a by-election from Baharampur and that Ganguly had been approached to convey the message to Pathan.

It further suggested that the former cricketer-turned-politician had refused to resign from the seat he secured in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

‘No contact with Yusuf Pathan’

“I was never requested/asked by Ms Mamata Banerjee to convey any message from her to Mr Yusuf Pathan, whether to step down from his parliamentary seat, as alleged or otherwise or at all,” stated Ganguly.

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Warning against speculation, the former BCCI president reiterated that no such communication had ever taken place between him and the TMC MP.

“I never approached or contacted Mr Yusuf Pathan with any such or other request/message. As such, the question of Mr Yusuf Pathan responding in the manner as alleged in the article does not and cannot arise,” added Ganguly.

Appeal against rumours

Ganguly also stressed that he had remained away from political affairs throughout his public life. Stating that he had “never been involved in political matters at any stage with anyone concerned”, he urged journalists and media houses “not to fall prey to rumours and speculations without verifying the correctness of the facts printed and published”.

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Neither Pathan nor the TMC leadership has issued any official response to the report.

Backdrop of TMC turmoil

The controversy comes amid political turbulence in West Bengal following the TMC’s defeat in the 2026 Assembly elections.

The party was reduced to 80 seats in the 294-member House, while Banerjee lost her own constituency to BJP leader and now Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.

The crisis deepened this week after 58 MLAs rebelled, and only eight loyal legislators attended a meeting called by Banerjee at her Kalighat residence on Friday.