He just wanted to be captain, so he could control things: Chappell says Ganguly didn't 'want to work hard' as player
Chappell decided to drop Sourav Ganguly from the team after removing him from the captaincy. It led to much scrutiny from the fans and media with former players also criticising the Aussie great.
One of the most documented times in Indian cricket has been the stint of former Australia skipper Greg Chappell as Team India head coach. He came in with much fanfare due to his reputation in cricket but it soon unravelled. Chappell decided to drop Sourav Ganguly from the team after removing him from the captaincy. It led to much scrutiny from the fans and media with former players also criticising the Aussie great.
Chappell has opened on his stint as Indian coach. He has recalled his issues with Ganguly as he said that the former Indian skipper did not want to improve as a player but only wanted to stay on as captain.
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“The two years in India were challenging on every front. The expectations were ridiculous. Some of the issues were around Sourav being captain. He didn’t particularly like working hard. He wasn’t really looking to improve his cricket. He just wanted to be in the team as captain, so that he could control things. It was challenging and wonderful, working with Tendulkar, Sehwag, Dravid and Kumble, some of the young players. Dhoni came into the side” Chappell said on Cricket Life Stories Podcast.
“Ganguly was the one who approached me about coaching India. I had other approaches but I decided that since John Buchanan was coaching Australia… And If I couldn’t coach Australia then I would love to coach the most populous, fanatical cricket country in the world, and that opportunity came about because Sourav, who was the captain, made sure that I did.”
Speaking to Bengali daily Sangbad Pratidin, Ganguly said the period where he was dropped was the 'biggest setback' in his career.
“That was the biggest setback of my career,” Ganguly said.
“It was absolute injustice. I know you can’t get justice all the time but even then that treatment could have been avoided. I was the captain of the team which had just won in Zimbabwe and I get sacked after returning home?”
“I dreamt of winning the 2007 World Cup for India. We had lost in the final the previous time. I had reasons to dream too. The team had played so well under me for the last five years whether it was home or away. Then you suddenly drop me? First, you say I’m not in the ODI side, then you drop me from the Test team too,” Ganguly added.
