The Hindu : Front Page : Chappell disappointed over letter leak

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Monday, Sep 26, 2005

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Chappell disappointed over letter leak

BCCI appeals to all cricketers under contract to exercise restraint

MUMBAI: Indian cricket coach Greg Chappell on Sunday expressed disappointment over the leak to the media of an email he had sent to Ranbir Singh Mahendra, president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, criticising captain Sourav Ganguly.

Mr. Chappell said the letter was private and confidential. "I would have liked it to remain confidential though it did not remain so."

The Aussie, along with team physio John Gloster, physical trainer Gregory King and biomechanics expert Ian Frazer, arrived here on Sunday morning from Zimbabwe, a day after the Indian team's arrival.

He said he would not like to speak any more on the matter at this stage. "It is a fairly normal thing happening in cricket. Things change and sometime in future we can talk about it." He would attend the BCCI review committee meeting here on September 27 and discuss all matters.

The coach said in the e-mail that Mr. Ganguly was "mentally and physically unfit."

Sourav, Chappell invited

In an attempt to hear both sides of the story and, at the same time, avert a possible confrontation between Mr. Chappell and Mr. Ganguly, the BCCI has decided to call them "separately" for the review committee meeting.

"Yes, both Sourav and Chappell have been invited to attend the meeting and have been asked to narrate their side of the story. However, there are lots of other issues as well which would come up for discussion at the meeting," BCCI joint secretary Gautam Dasgupta said in Kolkata.

Apart from Mr. Ganguly and Mr. Chappell, Mr. Mahendra, his predecessor, Jagmohan Dalmiya, BCCI secretary S.K. Nair and three former captains — Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri and S. Venkataraghavan — will be attending the meeting in Mumbai.

An appeal

A media release issued by Mr. Nair from Thirvananthapuram said the Board had ``appealed to all cricketers under its contract as well as those who were selected for the tour of Zimbabwe and the support staff of the team to exercise restraint.''

In a letter to all the players who toured Zimbabwe and those who are contracted as well as the coach and other support staff, Mr. Nair said:

``Your kind attention is invited to the relevant provision of the letter of selection that was issued to you prior to the tour to Zimbabwe in August 2005, or the contract entered between you and the board.

``You are aware that the board has constituted a committee to review the performance of the Indian team and the role of all concerned. The committee is scheduled to meet on September 27, 2005 in Mumbai ... In view of this, you are advised to apply restraint and not make any comments to the media that affect the interest of Indian cricket.''

— PTI, UNI

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