Greg Chappell had support from the entire system in dropping me, alleges Sourav Ganguly
Talking to the Bengali newspaper Sangbad Pratidin, Sourav Ganguly has alleged how in 2005 Greg Chappell along with the support from the Indian cricketing setup dropped him from the team. He also admitted that the drop was the biggest setback in his career after leading the side successfully.
Sourav Gangulyâs reign as the Indian skipper came in two quarters, one leading the side to a successful win in the 2002 Natwest series final against England and the other that succeeded the 2003 World Cup final. Two years after leading the side to a World Cup final against Australia, news came hurling that Ganguly was dropped from the Indian setup, with his captaincy stripped under Greg Chappellâs coaching tenure.Â
It all started when an email from the Australian coach got leaked in the media about the Bengali batsmanâs future. Following that, he was dropped from the setup before making his comeback a year later, against South Africa in 2006.Â
âI donât want to blame Greg Chappell alone. There is no doubt about the fact that he was the one who started it. He suddenly sends an email against me to the board which gets leaked too. Does something like this happen? A cricket team is like a family. There can differences of opinion, misunderstandings in the family but that should be sorted out with dialogue,â he told Sangbad Pratidin, reported Hindustan Times.Â
On top of that, Ganguly also went on to allege that his teammates too were not involved in his infamous drop from the Indian setup. However, the southpaw revealed that he neither let the pressure get the better of him nor lose confidence in himself. Naturally, being dropped from the setup entirely would be the biggest setback for anyoneâs career, leave alone Ganguly. The current BCCI president also stated that the board could have treated him better.Â
âThe others are not innocent either. A foreign coach who doesnât have any say in the selection cannot drop an Indian captain. I had understood that this is not possible without the support of the entire system. Everyone was involved in the scheme to drop me. But I didnât crumble under pressure. I didnât lose confidence in me,â Ganguly added.
âThat was the biggest setback of my career. It was an absolute injustice. I know you canât 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?â he concluded.