Ganguly and Chappell to stay, asked to develop 'professional relationship'

[Paoli]

What you'd expect really...As if they're going to get rid of Chappell.

Cricinfo had a blow by blow coverage, as roving reporter Anand Vasu puts it, it's pretty funny when you put it in context; here we are over a row between a cricket captain and coach, being given the buildup of the Al Capone case, made famous in The Untouchables. Here is an excerpt of the final decision:

5.25pm - Committee's decision - Captain and coach to stay

Sourav Ganguly and Greg Chappell will stay as captain and coach of the Indian team. The review committee heard Chappell and Ganguly, and asked them to forge a working relationship. It also cleared Ganguly of the charges levelled against him by Chappell, blaming it on "some miscommunication". Further, it issued a blanket ban on the coach or any player appoaching the media on this issue, and warned that anyone violating this code would be dealt with severely.

Full story

[Zainub]

I quite like this verdict of theres to be honest. I mean Ganguly and Chapell still working together for the same team, I can see opposition teams in future using this whole Zimbabwe "he told me to step down - I didn't tell him to step down" saga to try and unsettle Ganguly, and the rest of the team - the possibilities are endless. The fact that both have seemingly escaped this without a sack is IMHO bad news for Indian cricket, but great news for England and Pakistan, both of whom have to play India in the not so distant future (presuming this "try and work together in a professional relationship" verdict survives by then!)

[Paoli]

lol, the one I found the funniest was the Ashish Nehra. It reads something like:

3:20 Nehra Arrives

Paceman Ashish Nehra arrived outside the hotel. It is unknown whether he was here to give evidence or here on unrelated business.

[Zainub]

I still think the funniest bit was "blow-to-blow" coverage - you can't beat that!

[rineet]

Indian cricket is going to suffer if both Chappell and Ganguly are going to serve India together. They have no respect for each other especially after this fiasco. Only BCCI will support useless cases like Ganguly. They should take a cue from other countries like Australia, who have dropped Damien Martyn for the super series. Remember Martyn`s form before the ashes: awesome. Even the great Steve Waugh was asked to quit captaincy after a failure in one VB series against South Africa and New Zealand. If Indian cricket has to progress, then Ganguly should be sacked if he doesnt quit out of his own will. He simply has no future and he can never come back to form. He is finished as a cricketer. Chappell has a vision of seeing the Indian team lift the 2007 WC. His opinions will be frank and not machiavellistic like Gangulys' whose main aim is to secure his position in the Indian team. Ganguly will go to any length to achieve his goal, even if it means that the team performs badly and promising players are kept out. It's time for some radical changes to be implemented by and within the BCCI.

[Zainub]

I am totally with you on this Rineet, as would be most outsiders. But am I right in thinking Ganguly still has the sympathy of a certain section of the Indian fans? The committeee members certainly did.

[vvvrulz]

Personally I was hoping this would see the end of Ganguly. Since it hasn't, the next best thing is this whole ordeal would finally get his act together.

[Paoli]

Originally Posted by vvvrulz

Personally I was hoping this would see the end of Ganguly. Since it hasn't, the next best thing is this whole ordeal would finally get his act together.

Well, that's what I wished to see as well. I agree with Rineet about Chappelli, and there is no way India are going to get rid of him; he was the guy who they knew could take them to glory, so much so that they chased him up for a while about the position.

Saurav has overstayed the length of his usefulness.

[Zainub]

Former coach John Wright speaks out on the Ganguly-Chapel controversy. BBC Report here.

Originally Posted by Mr.Wright

We always believed what goes on in changing room stays in the changing room

[dextrous]

Originally Posted by rineet

Indian cricket is going to suffer if both Chappell and Ganguly are going to serve India together. They have no respect for each other especially after this fiasco. Only BCCI will support useless cases like Ganguly. They should take a cue from other countries like Australia, who have dropped Damien Martyn for the super series. Remember Martyn`s form before the ashes: awesome. Even the great Steve Waugh was asked to quit captaincy after a failure in one VB series against South Africa and New Zealand. If Indian cricket has to progress, then Ganguly should be sacked if he doesnt quit out of his own will. He simply has no future and he can never come back to form. He is finished as a cricketer. Chappell has a vision of seeing the Indian team lift the 2007 WC. His opinions will be frank and not machiavellistic like Gangulys' whose main aim is to secure his position in the Indian team. Ganguly will go to any length to achieve his goal, even if it means that the team performs badly and promising players are kept out. It's time for some radical changes to be implemented by and within the BCCI.

This is not about whether or not Ganguly is out-of-form it is about how Chappell thinks and acts. You don't just ask an international captain to step down in the middle of the tour or leak information about players to certain journalists. You don't just end a player's career on a whim in the middle of the tour. Nobody, especially, someone like Ganguly who has served India for so long deserves that. There's a time and place for such discussion -- the middle of tour isn't that.