Sourav Ganguly, entrusted with the responsibility of picking India's next coach as one of the members of the BCCI's three-man committee, said that he would not "mess up" as he did while recommending the coach way back in 2005, says a report in Calcutta telegraph, adding that though the former India captain didn't take any name, it was more than obvious that he was referring to Australian Greg Chappell, the former India coach.
“Sourav and Chappell shared a frosty relationship during two turbulent years, a time when one of India's most celebrated captains was removed from the top job. Chappell's tenure as coach, though, ended after India's disastrous World Cup campaign in 2007,” says the report.
"I once had an opportunity to select the coach. I thought I messed it up in 2005... I have been given that opportunity again. I had taken an interview once and it did not go off well," Sourav said during the launch of his to-be-written book - A Century Is Not Enough - at a city hotel on Tuesday afternoon. Sourav said that the BCCI committee - comprising Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and himself - would do the job correctly.
Meanwhile, according to a report in The Indian Express, about half an hour before going into the India coach selection meeting, Sourav Ganguly conceded he had made a mistake in 2005 by throwing his weight behind Greg Chappell. Back then, he was the all-powerful captain of the Indian team and the Australian was his preferred choice to take over from John Wright. Eleven years down the line, he hoped to do things “correctly” with the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman by his side. The three greats are in the BCCI-appointed four-member committee that has the responsibility to pick the new head coach of the national cricket team.
“I once had an opportunity to select the coach. I thought I messed it up in 2005. I’m given that opportunity again. Hopefully we will do it correctly this time, whoever it is… Luckily, I have got support in Sachin, VVS, the BCCI secretary and president. Together we will pick the right person,” Ganguly said at a book launch programme before he headed to the coach selection meeting.
