Chappell vs Ganguly : Is the saga over??? - Part 1 of a two part post

I would think not!!! Judging by the run of events today, definitely not! Chappell and Ganguly were called upon to present their respective cases in front of the BCCI's special committee. This committee consisted of noted names like Ravi Shastri, Sunny Gavaskar and BCCI (*so called*) administrators like S.K Nair and Ranbir Singh Mahendra, the president. Also present was past BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya, though I can't understand why he was called.

A quick flashback as nothing of great significance took place today. All the action took place over the last few days!

It all started with Saurav Ganguly telling the media after the first test match in Zimbabwe that he had been asked to step down by the coach. This was later denied by Greg Chappell in his by-now-famous E-mail to the BCCI president. More on that later.
This was the beginning of what would turn out to be one of the most hostile and much publicized confrontations in Indian Cricket's long history.

This done, soon after the Zimbabwe tour ended, Greg Chappell fired an email to the BCCI defending his position in the entire matter and also voicing his views on the current state of the Indian team and its captain. This was a 6 page email that was leaked to the media (sources unknown :-))

Greg Chappell begins by saying that he had never asked Sourav to step down but to rethink his position after the end of the series. Ganguly had asked him for his opinion on his current batting form to which Chappell replied, "I told him that I thought he was struggling as a player and that it was affecting his ability to lead the team effectively and that the pressure of captaincy was affecting his ability to play to his potential. I also told him that his state of mind was fragile and it showed in the way that he made decisions on and off the field in relation to the team, especially team selection."

He goes on to say that Ganguly used to make frequent changes to the team and that his frame of mind was not proper and this reflected on his decision making skills both on and off the pitch!

He also added and I quote :
"I also told Sourav that his nervous state was affecting the team in other ways as he was prone to panic during pressure situations in games and that his nervous demeanour was putting undue pressure on the rest of the team. His nervous pacing of the rooms during our batting in the final plus his desire to change the batting order during our innings in the final had also contributed to nervousness in the players waiting to go in to bat. His reluctance to bat first in games I suggested was also giving wrong signals to the team and the opposition and his nervousness at the crease facing bowlers like Shane Bond from NZ was also affecting morale in the dressing room".

Chappell further goes on to say that based on all these above mentioned observations and some other comments from fellow team members, he is of the opinion that Sourav should consider stepping down and allow some other member (Rahul) to lead the team and look ahead to the WC 2007!

Coming to the most shocking part according to me! The feigining of injury during the practice match against a weak Zimbabwe 'A' side!! According to Greg Chappell,
"The following day Sourav batted in the match against Zimbabwe 'A' team in the game in Mutare. I am not sure of the exact timing of events because I was in the nets with other players when Sourav went in to bat, but the new ball had either just been taken or was imminent when I saw Sourav walking from the field holding his right arm. I assumed he had been hit and made my way to the players' area where Sourav was receiving treatment from the team physiotherapist, John Gloster.

When I enquired as to what had happened Sourav said he had felt a click in his elbow as he played a ball through the leg side and that he thought he should have it investigated. Sourav had complained of pain to his elbow at various stages of the one-day series, but he had resisted having any comprehensive investigation done and, from my observation, had been spasmodic in his treatment habits, often not using ice-packs for the arm that had been prepared for him by John Gloster. I suggested, as had John Gloster, that we get some further tests done immediately. Sourav rejected these suggestions and said he would be 'fine'. When I queried what he meant by 'fine' he said he would be fit for the Test match. I then queried why then was it necessary to be off the field now. He said that he was just taking 'precautions'.

Rather than make a scene with other players and officials in the vicinity I decided to leave the matter and observe what Sourav would do from that point on. After the loss of Kaif, Yuvraj and Karthik to the new ball, Sourav returned to the crease with the ball now around 20 overs old. He struggled for runs against a modest attack and
eventually threw his wicket away trying to hit one of the spinners over the leg side.

The next day I enquired with a number of the players as to what they had thought of Sourav's retirement. The universal response was that it was 'just Sourav' as they recounted a list of times when Sourav had suffered from mystery injuries that usually disappeared as quickly as they had come. This disturbed me because it confirmed for me that he was in a fragile state of mind and it was affecting the mental state
of other members of the squad.

When we arrived in Bulawayo I decided I needed to ask Sourav if he had over-played the injury to avoid the danger period of the new ball as it had appeared to me and others within the touring party that he had protected himself at the expense of others. He denied the suggestion and asked why he would do that against such a modest attack. I said that he was the only one who could answer that question.

Rest in part 2
Cheers!