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The Chappell–Ganguly controversy was a whirlwind for cricket fans, packed with drama, controversy, and a somewhat bitter conclusion.
It’s strange how two strong personalities clashed, each with their own vision for Indian cricket.
The Protagonists:
on one hand stood Sourav Ganguly, the revered leader of the Indian cricket team. Known affectionately as “dada,” he was the catalyst behind the team’s metamorphosis into a fearless unit.
Under his captaincy, India achieved remarkable victories against formidable opponents like Pakistan and Australia, establishing a legacy of triumph.
Ganguly’s charismatic leadership and astute strategies endeared him to fans across the nation, earning him a place in the hearts of millions.
On the opposing side loomed Greg Chappell, the uncompromising Australian.
A former cricketing legend infamous for his controversial decision during the underarm delivery incident, Chappell was now at the helm as the coach of the Indian team.
Possessing a reputation for asserting authority and pursuing his vision with unwavering determination, Chappell was determined to leave his mark on Indian cricket.
Background of Chappell–Ganguly controversy:
In late early 2005, the Indian cricket team faced a pivotal moment as the contract of their coach, John Wright, was nearing its end.
Wright decided not to renew his contract due to personal reasons, sparking a search for his replacement.
Numerous candidates emerged, including Jimmy Amarnath, Tom Moody, and Dav Whatmore.
However, a surprising recommendation came from none other than the team’s captain, Sourav Ganguly, who proposed Greg Chappell for the role.
Ganguly’s admiration for Chappell stemmed from their interactions before the 2003-04 series against Australia in Australia.
During this time, Ganguly was deeply impressed by Chappell’s profound knowledge and understanding of the game.
Believing that Chappell possessed the qualities to propel Indian cricket forward, Ganguly advocated for his appointment as the team’s coach.
However, there were a few people who advised Ganguly against his recommendation. Prominent among them were Sunil Gavaskar and Jagmohan Dalmia but the most startling person to speak against this appointment was Greg’s own elder brother, Ian Chappell.
They all felt that the kind of personality Greg Chappell had, his manner of dealing with people and his quest for control, would not go down well in the Indian dressing room.
Ian Chappell and Sunil Gavaskar even suggested that Greg’s man management skills were not great at all.
Regardless, Ganguly stood firm in his recommendation and finally, the board agreed and appointed Chappell the head coach of the team in May 2005.
Ganguly was delighted and Chappell too was looking forward to the role.
The fight begins:
When Chappell took over, his first assignment with the team was a trip to Sri Lanka for an ODI tournament.
Ganguly was not to be a part of the tour as he was suspended by the ICC for 6 matches due to poor over rates in a previous series.
Dravid was appointed skipper for the series.
The next assignment was a test series against Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe. Ganguly was back at the helm for this series.
His form in test matches though, was a cause for concern as he had not scored a century in the format for over 2 years.
This is something that Chappell brought up with Ganguly before the test series. Before the practice match prior to the test matches, Chappell suggested to Ganguly to step down from captaincy to focus on his batting, re-assuring Ganguly that he would soon find form.
Before the first test, Chappell felt that India must always field its best 11, even if it was at the expense of an out of form Ganguly giving way to a younger, in-form batsman, with an eye to the future as well.
This enraged Ganguly, who thought it an attempt by Chappell to remove him from captaincy, and he threatened to walk out of the tour and return back home.
Better sense prevailed when Dravid and Chappell coaxed him to stay on. He stayed on and played the first test as captain, scoring a century to boot.
After the test match, Ganguly made a comment to the media that he was being ‘pressurized’ to give up the captaincy by certain team officials.
Speculations were rife and fingers were pointed at Chappell who came out in his defense by stating that he would never pressurize anyone to do anything.
He also said that the private conversation he had with Ganguly was to motivate him.
It was during this tour that an email sent to the board by Chappell was leaked to the media in which he felt that Ganguly was just ‘desperate’ to retain the captaincy and that he felt that Ganguly was ‘mentally and physically’ unfit to lead the team.
He also said Ganguly’s negative attitude and habit of faking injuries to get out of tough situations would have a drastic and adverse effect on India’s chances to win the 2007 world cup.
He further stated that Ganguly had lost the confidence and trust of his fellow teammates. This washing of linen in public created a furor, especially in Kolkata where there were protests against Chappell.
India’s next assignment was a 7 match ODI series against Srilanka in October 2005.
Ganguly ( as fate would have it) suffered an injury before this series and was not picked for the team announced for the first 4 games.
With India doing well after 4 games, Ganguly was not added to the squad when the team for the remaining fixtures was announced.
Thus, Ganguly was left out of the Indian ODI team and was no longer captain of the ODI team.
He was also not selected for the 5 match ODI series against South Africa that followed and as a result, during the ODI in Kolkata of that series, the Indian team was booed by the passionate Ganguly fans in Kolkata and there is a famous photograph of Chappell showing the finger to some supporters in retaliation for the Anti Chappell posters that was captured there.
In the test series against Sri Lanka that followed, Ganguly did make a come-back against into the team but Dravid was appointed captain of the test team and Sehwag vice-captain as well.
One thing was thus clear, Chappell had impressed upon the Indian selectors that Ganguly was not good enough to be part of the ODI set up ( losing out to younger, fitter players) and he was not good enough to lead the test side.
Ganguly jostled with younger players like Yuvraj and Kaif for his position in the team and was dropped from the squad entirely for the third test after a lackluster performance in the first 2 tests.
The rationale provided for the dropping by then Chief selector, Kiran More, was that it would not have been unfair to have a senior member like Ganguly in the squad but not playing.
The same story continued in the series against Pakistan ( in Pakistan) and England ( at home), Ganguly was in and out of the team.
In the series that followed against the West Indies, Ganguly found himself out of both teams.
His extended omission from the team created ripples of support from the public, debates in parliament too, with calls for an enquiry.
Effigies of the selectors and Chappell alike were burned.
Then there was the famous advertisement from a beverage company with the “bhule toh nahin” question asked by Ganguly in it, which endeared him to one and all. (Ganguly in his autobiography says that he was not in favour of doing an advertisement of this kind but his contractual obligations compelled him to do so).
Ganguly’s return:
The return of Ganguly to the Indian cricket team after being sidelined marked a remarkable comeback story.
Despite facing setbacks and being overlooked for some time, Ganguly’s perseverance and strong performances in domestic cricket paved the way for his return to the national side.
His contributions during the tour of South Africa, especially being the highest run-scorer for India in the Test series, showcased his enduring skill and determination.
He performed admirably in the warm-up game before the first test and was picked into the playing 11 for the first test.
He scored a 51 in his first innings back and played well throughout the three test series to be the highest run-getter for India in the series.
This terrific performance propelled him into earning a call-up into the Indian ODI team as well, after a gap of nearly 2 years.
He performed well in the ODI games too to earn a call-up for the India world cup team for the 2007 world cup.
India went into the tournament as one of the favourites but as many of us regretfully still remember (and will probably never forget) India exited in the first stage itself.
This poor performance created enough pressure on Chappell as well and he resigned from his post as coach of the team.
Thus, culminated one of the biggest sagas in Indian cricket.
The Fallout:
The Chappell-Ganguly controversy indeed left a lasting impact, deeply dividing both the team and the cricketing community.
While some supported Chappell’s portrayal of Ganguly, others criticized his forceful manner of expressing his views, which clashed with the traditional dynamics of the Indian team.
Many players, including Sachin Tendulkar in his 2014 autobiography, highlighted the destabilizing effect Chappell had on the team.
They felt that Ganguly was unfairly treated under his coaching stint.
Additionally, Zaheer Khan and VVS Laxman have also come forward with accounts of unpleasant encounters with Chappell, though they chose to speak out years after the incidents occurred.
Harbhajan was one of the few who came out in Ganguly’s support in 2005 itself but was admonished for it, though not punished.
In fact, a quote from Harbhajan goes “Chappell destroyed Indian cricket to such an extent that it required at least 3 years to again get back on track.
The worst part was that some, players in that team, who sucked up to the coach would supply selective misinformation creating bigger rifts”
Thus, perhaps certain people (players) took advantage of the situation between Ganguly and Chappell to further their own case. Certainly, as coach of the team, Chappell would have wanted the best for the team.
It would have also helped him leave a lasting legacy if the team coached by him did well. The way he went about doing it though, left a lot to be desired and ultimately made the atmosphere in the team a torrid one.
The treatment meted out to Ganguly could not have done wonders to the confidence of the other players in the team.
“If the captain can be shown the door in a ruthless manner, imagine what would happen to me” a player could not be faulted for thinking like that.
It meant that players were playing to retain their places in the side; they were playing as individuals and not as a cohesive team.
Cracks thus emerged and the result was the ultimate fiasco in the world cup 2007.
It also forever put Ganguly’s position in the side under scrutiny and he ultimately had enough and retired in 2008.
This saga happened with was one of the strongest Indian teams, with the likes of Tendulkar, Sehwag, Dravid, Kumble, Zaheer Khan and VVS Laxman in it, all they could do was watch from the sidelines and offer a private word of sympathy to Ganguly when they could.
