Sport | Cricket
Ganguly shocks Indian team by praising Chappell
Sourav Ganguly amused and shocked his teammates in equal measure during a farewell dinner held in his honour.
- By Ashish Shukla, Special to Gulf News
- Published: 00:13 October 9, 2008
Bangalore: Sourav Ganguly amused and shocked his teammates in equal measure during a farewell dinner held in his honour.
The former Indian captain praised Sachin Tendulkar during his speech but surprised his teammates by praising former India coach Greg Chappell.
"Sachin is able to guess beforehand if an individual is facing a crisis or if an issue could soon crop up for him," said Ganguly, dubbed the Prince of Kolkata.
"But the best thing is that Sachin is always averse to take any credit for it.
"If he could have his way, he wouldn't let a talk between two individuals be shared with a third person.
"He is very dignified and graceful in his manners. I am very grateful for quite a few things he has done for me," said an emotional Ganguly about his teammate, who he forged the most successful opening partnership ever in ODI history.
The pair scored 6,609 runs in 136 innings at an average of nearly 50.
Even as a thunderous clap by his teammates was drowning everything else in the room, Ganguly dropped a bombshell and had a deathly silence fill the room with his next comment.
"I would also be ever grateful to Greg Chappell," said Ganguly to his stunned team-mates, who have remained hostile to their former Australian coach.
Major showdown
The bad vibes and public showdown between Chappell and Ganguly was highly acrimonious.
But Ganguly said Chappell had been a major force during his resurrection as a batsman of international class and substance.
"I can say with all honesty that it was Greg who cleared my mental cobwebs towards batting and made me a more compact and better batsman," said Ganguly.
The batsman flew to Sydney for private sessions before the tour of Australia in 2003-04 and he hit centuries on a lively pitch at Gabba and then at Brisbane.
His comments about the former Indian coach shocked his teammates.
One senior player said: "Indeed I dropped my glass at the mention of Chappell. Nobody expected Dada to get praiseful about a man who all but destroyed him."
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