Chappell denies resignation reports

Greg Chappell, the Indian coach, has dismissed out of hand reports in certain Indian television channels that he had threatened to resign if Sourav Ganguly decided to involve Jagmohan Dalmiya to sort out their mutual differences.

"I have no time to respond to such reports, it's absolute bull shit," he said from his hotel room in Harare. "Neither have I threatened to resign nor do I intend to resign.

"I have a job at hand and I want to do it to the best of my ability. What happens outside that is not in my control and I am not going to bother about what's not in my control." He refused to comment on the controversy subsequent to Ganguly's public disclosure that he had been asked to step down before the Bulawayo Test. Chappell said he wanted to focus on what he had to do rather than get caught up in all the controversy.

Meanwhile, Ravi Shastri and Sunil Gavaskar have both suggested that Ganguly and Chappell thrash the issue out before it snowballs into something even bigger. "If I was them, I would sit right now and tell each other to get their heat out and be over with it," Shastri was quoted as saying by Press Trust of India. "It must be handled now before the ugly issue rears its head again in six months' time."

Shastri also said that it was important to understand the context of the point that Chappell made. "It's important to know in what context Chappell said so. He might have privately gone to him and said 'you are feeling the pressure and it would not be a bad idea to step down'. Or, 'you feel your own personal batting form is not the greatest, you feel the responsibility is too much so you should step down'. In what context he said it, nobody knows. You got to get the truth."

Gavaskar, who along with Shastri is part of the review committee appointed by the board to look into India's recent poor form, suggested that a selector travel with the team on tour. "When Australia came to India last year, they had selectors Trevor Hohns and Allan Border, accompany the team. It would give him a fair idea of what's happening in the dressing room. There could be some guys who are not good for the spirit of the dressing room. A selector sitting back in India wouldn't be able to see it."

Shastri also saw nothing wrong in Chappell taking on a more proactive role than John Wright, his predecessor as India's coach, in instilling greater discipline in the team. "Towards the end of his reign, I don't think John [Wright] was pulling his weight. It is very important for Chappell to instill discipline, get the right kind of camaraderie between the seniors and the juniors. If a senior player gets out of hand, it is his job to reprimand him. He must tell him that it's a team sport and by what he is doing, the team performance can get affected."

Meanwhile, Chappell and Ganguly headed, quite literally, in different directions before the second Test at Harare. While Chappell headed for the venue of the match with four other players, Ganguly went off to catch a glimpse of the Victoria Falls.

The second Test starts on September 20.

Click here to send us your feedback on the issue.