Ganguly slams press for misrepresenting facts

From the moment he took over as captain of a beleaguered Indian side, Sourav Ganguly won many admirers in the press. After the uncommunicative Mohammed Azharuddin and the somewhat reticent Sachin Tendulkar, Ganguly came across as a man who was articulate and unafraid to speak his mind. As is often the case, this very trait has sparked off a controversy. Speaking to pressmen, Ganguly angrily denied suggestions that he made a veiled comment about Sachin Tendulkar's contribution to India's success.

Earlier, Ganguly was quoted as having said that he "did not want to land up with 25 or 26 one-day hundreds only to see the team lose 50 per cent of the matches." This was construed as a reference to Sachin Tendulkar as he has scored a suspiciously close number of centuries to the figure mentioned. Dismissing the issue, Ganguly said, "How could I ever say that against Tendulkar?" He went on to add, "it is very, very disappointing. I try my best to see the press gets fair information from me but if it is twisted like this, it is no good." The captain certainly has a point there.

Indian coach Anshuman Gaekwad came out strongly in Ganguly's defense, "This is terrible. There was no mention of Tendulkar." He went on to say that if such a trend continued, the team would have to insist on tape recorders at all press conferences.

Fortunately for Ganguly there appears to be little or no damage done. Sachin Tendukar told the press that he has no hard feelings against Ganguly. The Indian batting maestro went on to add, "I am sure if Sourav has to say something to me he would come directly to me".

Incidents of this kind do little to help an already strained player-media relationship.