Criticism of Ganguly: Bengal players hit out at Gaekwad

The indirect criticism that coach Anshuman Gaekwad has directed towards skipper Sourav Ganguly after India's loss to New Zealand in the final of the ICC KnockOut Trophy has not been taken very kindly by former cricketers of the state. In fact, most of them have criticised Gaekwad for India's loss in the final. According to them, Gaekwad could have played a more active role in guiding Ganguly.

Former selector Sambaran Bannerjee has written in his column, "If newspaper reports are to be believed, Gaekwad has criticised Ganguly. On the other hand, Gaekwad should have shielded the captain after the loss in the final. Reaching the final itself was an achievement. My question is what was Gaekwad doing during the final. He could have sent instructions to Ganguly through the 12th man. He could have easily instructed Ganguly through the 12th man to bowl Venkatesh Prasad for 10 overs. He did not do that. Instead he chose to blame Ganguly for the loss in the final. This is one of the main reasons why the Indian Board is looking for a foreign coach. The Indian coach has shown that he lacks a professional attitude."

Former Indian selector and opening batsman Pankaj Roy said, "I do not understand how people can criticise Sourav Ganguly. Let me ask you one thing very frankly. How many matches has Sachin Tendulkar won for us since the Coca Cola tournament at Sharjah? I can state with facts that Saurav Ganguly has won us more matches since he came into the Indian side than Tendulkar. How can you criticise a person who scores 141 off 142 balls and the 117 off 130 balls. It just goes to show that some of our former cricketers lack the etiquette to respect the junior lot."

Former Bengal cricketer Raju Mukherjee was even more aggressive. When asked to comment on Gaekwad's criticism, Mukherjee said, "What was he doing? He should have directed the Indian captain regarding the finer points of the game. And if he felt that the Indian captain was not ready to heed his advice, he should have resigned immediately. But he hasn't done that. Instead he has chosen to criticise Ganguly.''

Bengal's left-arm spinner Utpal Chatterjee had just one comment to offer. "Ganguly did not intentionally run out Tendulkar and Dravid. So he should not be criticised for it. On the other hand, I feel the Indian coach could have been better off had he discussed the mistakes at a team meeting. He should not have come out with statements to the media."