"It's a real humiliation to a great player, who contributed to the T20 till last year. It is sad that his name was not even proposed during re-auctioneering," former first class left-arm spinner Avinash Kumar said.

Former Bihar glovesman Ashok Ghosh said "He is a great player. I don't know the reason behind his non-selection."

"It was sad that Ganguly was not even considered in the re-auction ... his participation could have been a motivation to youngsters," said another former Ranji cricketer Manoj Yadav.

Former Bihar Ranji captain Adil Hussein and his cricketing partner Anwar Mushtaq felt Ganguly deserved another stint as he was still in competitive cricket.

"The auctioneering has surprised us. He could have attracted a crowd anywhere in the world," Hussein felt.

"I have my doubts about their cricketing sense if they had thought Sourav could not have lasted for three years," he added.

Chanchal Bhattacharya, one of three coaches of Dhoni during his formative years, said "I think both left-handers, Ganguly and Brain Lara, deserved a slot in any of the teams and would have drawn crowds on their own."