The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Ganguly should not be captain anymore: Raj Singh Dungarpur

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Tuesday, Sep 27, 2005

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Ganguly should not be captain anymore: Raj Singh Dungarpur

Special Correspondent

Mumbai: Respecting senior cricketers is a great tradition in Indian cricket and the family and society of world cricket and Sourav Ganguly would have done well if he had evaluated his standing in world cricket against that of the coach Greg Chappell, said former Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Raj Singh Dungarpur at the Cricket Club of India here on Monday.

Raj Singh narrated several instances of how cricketers of yesteryear used to hold their seniors in awe and admiration and never let out happenings in the dressing to the outside world. "Sachin Tendulkar has said what happens in the dressing room should remain there. This open confrontation between the India captain and coach is a worse incident than the one involving Lala Amaranth, when he was sent back from England in 1936," Raj Singh said.

No personal animosity

Raj Singh said he has no personal animosity towards Ganguly. "I met him during the Lord's Test between Australia and England and he appeared to be a flustered and sick man. He wanted to play. I took him to Ehsan Mani who told him that he has to complete the ban for six matches (it was later reduced to four matches).

"I have learnt from people that Rahul Dravid was hurt at being unceremoniously dropped as captain after the Sri Lanka tour. I have never seen him getting bowled like the way it happened in Zimbabwe. Ganguly is an overprotected cricketer and he should not be India's captain anymore,'' the former BCCI President said.

Reacting to Harbhajan Singh's tirade against Chappell, he termed the Indian off-spinner was most `undisciplined' in the first year of the National Cricket Academy camp. "He destroyed the diet chart saying he's not there to starve. Bindra (President, Punjab Cricket Association) said he would ban Harbhajan for one year. I advised him against it because Harbhajan was very young, even now he's young.''

"I spoke to Bobby Simpson and John Wright this morning and both are devastated by this sorry episode. Chappell is being used as a pawn in the whole episode. The BCCI President Ranbir Singh Mahendra has to come clean on what is turning out to be a cheap soap opera.''

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