Sourav Ganguly’s dreams of a peaceful retired life are still far-fetched. Responding to his explosive interview given to Bengali daily Aajkaal in which he has lambasted everyone from selectors to current players, former selector Dilip Vengsarkar has promised him to give him "more than what he asked for."
Vengsarkar deems the current time inappropriate for any action against the soon-to-retire batsman since it will take the team’s focus off the ongoing test series against Australia. At the same time, Vengsarkar was all praises for Ganguly’s caliber, hailing him as a fine captain who had a superb international career.
Ganguly was kept out of the Irani Trophy match which was considered an indicative of the team for the India-Australia series. And when everyone thought Ganguly was out of the Border-Gavaskar Cup, the new selection panel headed by Krishnamachari Srikkanth picked him for the first two matches.
Ganguly took a shot at the selectors saying the situation would be different today had the same committee been in existence three years ago. He also remarked that his non-selection in the Ranji team prompted his decision of retirement. "If there is a gun to your head all the time, how long can you bear this?" Ganguly said. "I was tired of being humiliated again and again. I don't want to play cricket at the mercy of others (selectors)."
However, Ganguly has come out in his defense and labeled the comments attributed to him in Aajkaal false. Ganguly’s statement mentions, "The reports of an interview from a Bengali daily published in other newspapers are false. I have not given such an interview to anyone. I request you to clarify with me before publishing views from other sources."
Regardless of whether he made such comments or not, Ganguly has raised several eyebrows.
Vengsarkar wants strict action against him since such reckless comments create unnecessary controversies and bring down the team’s morale. Ganguly’s alleged comments on some players who "have changed their hairstyle more than they have scored” (apparently MS Dhoni) will not do any good to harmony in the dressing room either. Former Skipper Sunil Gavaskar expressed that Ganguly’s sentimental outburst is understandable yet untimely. Former Captain Bishan Bedi has expressed solidarity with Ganguly but maintains that the mistimed comments during a crucial test match will cause acrimony between the players.
