Miscellaneous

Ranbir hits back at Ganguly

It was only natural that Sourav Ganguly's charge against the manager of the 1991-92 side in the course of his BCC's Face to Face chat with Karan Thapar would draw some reaction from the person he has accused

19-Mar-2000
It was only natural that Sourav Ganguly's charge against the manager of the 1991-92 side in the course of his BCC's Face to Face chat with Karan Thapar would draw some reaction from the person he has accused. Predictably enough, Ranbir Singh, administrative manager of that team has refuted the Indian captain's charges against him as ``not true'' and asked Ganguly ``to come out with proof, if he has any''.
``What is intriguing is he chose to make such a statement even after knowing that the administrative manager has no say in either the team selection or cricket matters. These are dealt with by the coach or cricket manager,'' he added.
In a press release from Bhiwani, Ranbir Singh said his report on the tour was placed before the Board and no adverse report against any player was brought to the notice of its members. ``No such thing was mentioned about what Ganguly has alleged,'' he said.
Ranbir Singh said ``there is more to it than meets the eye and it is for the Board President (AC Muthiah) to investigate the matter and vindicate my honour as a senior member and former secretary of the Board. If the Board President is satisfied that there is even an iota of truth in what Ganguly alleged, I am prepared to quit from all positions in Indian cricket. If the Board President is convinced the whole thing has been done with malafide intention, then he should punish the guilty,'' he said.
Ranbir Singh expressed anguish at the language Ganguly used and the motives attributed to him. ``I can only assure him that I never had any ill-will against him, either in 1991-92 or now when he is a successful captain. He has packed his argument on the surmise that I had something against an official of his State Association and I was trying to take it out on him. This is not only untrue, it is too loaded a statement. I can only tell him as his wellwisher not to make such irresponsible statements as India's captain. I wish him all the luck,'' Ranbir Singh concluded.