No special incentives for tour, says Pawar

Sharad Pawar has praised Greg Chappell and supported Sourav Ganguly's inclusion for the Pakistan tour © Getty Images

Greg Chappell has been given credit for transforming the Indian team and improving the quality of cricket in the country by Sharad Pawar, the BCCI president.

"I have talked to the players and others as well and all of them have confided that Chappell is doing a fine job. It is he who has helped in improving the general quality of Indian cricket," Pawar has been reported as saying by PTI.

Asked if the BCCI would announce special incentives for the Indian team to win in Pakistan, Pawar said: "I do not believe in such incentives in sports. It is their duty to win. Such culture should be discouraged in sports."

Attempting to bury the controversy over the selection of Sourav Ganguly for the Pakistan tour, Pawar said that it was a justified inclusion. "There was no pressure on selectors to pick him in the team," he clarified. "Earlier we used to send a 15-member team, but now since it is a 16-member team, the selectors felt that Ganguly merited selection."

He also added that - contrary to public belief - there had been no pressure from Parliament to included Ganguly. "Tell me, who was going to answer the debate in Parliament? The sports minister? He does not know what the selection matters are. I feel such issues should be kept away from Parliament," Pawar said. "Ganguly is a great player and he has contributed immensely to Indian cricket. He is going through a lean phase. Even Sachin Tendulkar was going through a similar lean phase until he hit that record 35th Test hundred. Ups and downs are part of the game. The team management will decide how to use Ganguly in the forthcoming series."