Greg Chappell has steadfastly refused to become embroiled in the Sourav Ganguly situation, which he has unwittingly contributed to. Usually hesitant to discuss Indian cricket or Ganguly, with whom he has a tumultuous and tense past, unless he is writing columns, Chappell made news by appearing to support Chris Broad’s disparaging comments on Indian cricket.
When asked about his comments in the Australian media, the former India coach told Cricbuzz, “I wish Indian cricket, its highly talented cricketers, and the BCCI well.” He revealed that former BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya had advised him that Ganguly could be made available for a tour despite serving a suspension.
Darshak Mehta, chairman of The Chappell Foundation, issued the statement on behalf of Chappell.
“Dalmiya offered to have his suspension reduced so that he could go to Sri Lanka at the start of my tenure,” Chappell said in a statement to the Sydney Morning Herald on the situation. He must serve his time, therefore I declined since I didn’t want to upset the system. He appeared to be able to miss Dalmiya.
The uproar started when Broad, a former ICC match referee, said in a thoughtful interview on Tuesday that he was told to be forgiving of Ganguly for an over-rate violation.
“It was great because India was three or four overs short at the end of the match. After that, I received a call telling me to “find some time and be lenient because it’s India.” This occurred again in the very following game. “Just do him,” I was advised when I asked what to do. The father of Stuart Broad, a former England opener, told The Telegraph in the UK that it was obvious politics were at play.
However, Mehta stated that the fixation on Chappell ought to cease. Even after Greg departed as India’s coach eighteen years ago, this fixation with him continues to grow. “Every word he says is scrutinized, analyzed, and typically twisted for some hidden or imagined animosity against Ganguly,” Chappell’s close buddy Mehta stated.
The controversy dates back twenty years, to a time when Ganguly was the undeniable monarch of Indian cricket, so powerful that Parliament once discussed his expulsion from the national squad. A six-match home ODI series against Pakistan served as the backdrop for this incident, in which skipper Ganguly was penalized for a slow over-rate. Initially, Broad was referring to India’s defeat in the third ODI in Jamshedpur, and subsequently to their defeat in the Ahmedabad session.
Following the Ahmedabad match, Ganguly received a six-game suspension; however, this was later lowered to four games after an appeal. India lost 2-4 in the six-match series against the Pakistani team led by Inzamam-ul-Haq, and he missed the last two ODIs in Delhi and Kanpur. India’s coach for that March-April 2005 series was John Wright.
Following that Pakistan series, Chappell was named coach of the Indian squad. In July and August of 2005, he was given his first task, a tri-series in Sri Lanka. After the first two games, Ganguly joined the team, which was captained by Rahul Dravid. It was thought that this was the beginning of the well-known Chappell-Ganguly story.
“I have no comments to offer,” Chappell responded when asked if Indian cricket and the BCCI had too much influence, as Broad had implied. Chappell continued to coach India from May 2005 till April 2007.
India
