The lack of transparency in the Indian team's affairs came to the fore in stark fashion as captain Sourav Ganguly, who had only on Monday declared himself fit to play, was ruled out of the third Test against Australia which commenced here on Tuesday.
The buzz around the stadium when people reached the ground this morning was that the Indian skipper may not play the match and it got confirmed only when Rahul Dravid came out for the toss with Australia's stand-in captain Adam Gilchrist.
Ganguly had told the media on Monday that the thigh strain that eventually kept him out was not a concern.
It could not be confirmed if it was the same injury that Ganguly suffered while fielding in the first Test in Bangalore.
With no senior board official present, the media had difficulty in seeking basic information.
Off spinner Harbhajan Singh was last night said to be down with viral fever by some team sources, but on Tuesday it came to light that a stomach bug had led to the bout of fever and made him weak.
The injury to Ganguly and the indisposition of Harbhajan resulted in four changes being made in the Indian eleven for the crucial Test in the four-Test series in which they are down 0-1.
{{/usCountry}}The injury to Ganguly and the indisposition of Harbhajan resulted in four changes being made in the Indian eleven for the crucial Test in the four-Test series in which they are down 0-1.
{{/usCountry}}Opener Akash Chopra, fit-again Sachin Tendulkar, left arm paceman Ajit Agarkar and left arm spinner Murali Kartik replaced Yuvraj Singh, Ganguly, injured Irfan Pathan and Harbhajan.
Dravid is leading the team as stand-in captain for the fourth time in his 81-Test career.
He had earlier led against New Zealand in Mohali in October 2003, and in the first two Tests against Pakistan in the historic three-match series earlier this year at Multan and Lahore.