Sourav Ganguly minces no words about Ravi Shastri
Sourav Ganguly has lashed out at former Indian cricket team director Ravi Shastri and said he was hurt by the personal comments made by him.
The appointment of Anil Kumble as head coach of the Indian cricket team has triggered a war of words between Shastri and Ganguly.
Ganguly said it was not his sole decision to choose Kumble over Shastri. “If Ravi is believing that in a three member committee with names bigger than Sourav Ganguly, to imagine that I’m responsible for his not becoming the coach is like living in a fools world,” he said.
“I am sure he is experienced enough to know how the committee works,” he added.
Ganguly hinted that Shastri should have been physically present for the coach interview rather than holidaying in Bangkok.
Stating that he had no intention to disrespect Shastri, Ganguly said he was surprised that it got very personal.
“I am deeply saddened and disappointed with what I have heard on TV from someone who has been in such committees for last 20 years,” Ganguly said in an interview to India Today.
“I had informed the BCCI on the 19th [of June] in an official mail that I will have to leave at 5 o' clock because the CAB working committee meeting was supposed to happen that day and being the president of the association, I'm supposed to chair the meeting,” Ganguly clarified.
"The working committee meetings get decided 14 days before the meeting and to cancel it is impossible. And this meeting was decided in two days. Ravi's meeting was at 4.15 pm in the afternoon and doing interviews with everyone it went past [that time] and we reached 5 o'clock,” he told CNN News 18.
"I requested the committee if I could come back at six o'clock and do it again, which they agreed. Once I came here to this meeting, I got a message from Mr Shirke that the other two members are requesting if they could continue with Ravi, which I was fine with. I said 'Fine, I know I have been stuck with this and you please go ahead and do it.' That happens everywhere in the world and that's the exact story," said Ganguly, explaining his absence
Earlier, a miffed Shastri had attacked Ganguly and said, “Next time, be sure you are present at a meeting, especially one as important as this one.”