The Chappell–Ganguly controversy was caused by a series of events in late 2005 and early 2006 which involved highly publicised infighting in the Indian cricket team between the then newly appointed coach Greg Chappell and captain Sourav Ganguly. The dispute resulted in the removal of Ganguly as captain and his replacement by vice-captain Rahul Dravid in November 2005, with Ganguly being dropped from the ODI team. Ganguly was also dropped from the Test team at the end of January 2006. The dispute stirred up strong emotions in India, ranging from fiery street protests in Ganguly's home town of Kolkata and his home state of West Bengal, to speeches in the Parliament of India. Eventually Ganguly was recalled to the team in both forms of cricket in late 2006 after his replacements lost form, and was selected as a part of the Indian team for the 2007 Cricket World Cup, where India were knocked out in the group stage.
Background
Greg Chappell, a former captain of the Australian cricket team, was selected as the new Indian coach, after the incumbent coach John Wright, a former captain of the New Zealand cricket team, did not renew his contract at the end of the 2004/05 international season. India went through an indifferent 2004–05 season, being eliminated from the Champions Trophy in the Group stage, losing the Border–Gavaskar Trophy by a margin of 2–1, their first series loss to Australia on home soil since 1969, squandering a 1–0 Test series lead against Pakistan to level the series 1–1 and then losing the last four ODIs to lose the ODI series against the same opponents 4–2. However, John Wright's tenure had also seen India enter the finals of the 2003 Cricket World Cup after a poor start to the tournament, sharing victory in the 2002 Champions Trophy with Sri Lanka, and achieving famous Test wins in England, Australia, Pakistan and the West Indies. John Wright's role in historic victories for India brought importance and prestige to the position of coach in Indian cricket.
Chappell was chosen over the other contenders Dav Whatmore, Mohinder Amarnath, Graham Ford, Desmond Haynes, Tom Moody and John Emburey in a highly publicised selection process. Although lacking the experience and coaching credentials of his rivals, Chappell had emerged as the favourite in the media, and secured the appointment with the active support of the Indian captain Sourav Ganguly, who had earlier taken batting tips from Chappell during the successful 2003–04 tour of Australia. Ganguly had put forth Chappell's name twice in April 2005, even when other senior members in the national team were not consulted on the matter. Chappell soon became the centre of the Indian media's attention, and his prominence and dominant personality soon began to clash with Ganguly, who had earned a reputation for being a successful and tough captain.
India's first tournament under Chappell was the 2005 Indian Oil Cup in Sri Lanka, with Rahul Dravid captaining the team. This came about after Ganguly was serving a 4 match suspension for slow over rates during the series against Pakistan in early 2005. The tournament saw Chappell introduce young batsmen such as Suresh Raina and Venugopal Rao, due to the suspension of Ganguly and the axing of V. V. S. Laxman. With Ganguly's suspension expiring, he was reinstated as the captain on the tour to Zimbabwe. Ganguly entered the series having not scored a Test century for almost two years since late 2003, when he scored 144 against Australia in Brisbane.
Zimbabwe tour and email leak The tour began with a warmup game during which Chappell asked Ganguly to step down from the captaincy and focus on his batting. Chappell said that Ganguly's slump in batting form would affect the "other areas of his game", but expressed confidence about Ganguly regaining his form on the tour.
Before the first Test, Chappell stated that they should pick the best XI for the match, and that, if left to him, he would pick both Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif ahead of Ganguly. Irked by this, Ganguly decided to pack his bags and leave the tour. The team director Amitabh Chowdhary, along with Chappell and Dravid, insisted that he continue to play, as the captain leaving the team in the middle of the tour would be disastrous. After rumours emerged that Ganguly had allegedly faked an injury during the match, he made defiant comments to the media, in which he accused members of team management of trying to pressure him to resign as captain, although he would not name individuals.ESPNcricinfo – 'I was asked to step down as captain' – Ganguly He stated that the call for him to step down before the Test helped him find the "extra determination" for this innings.
A few days later, reports emerged that Chappell threatened to resign. However, Chappell dismissed these reports by saying, "Neither have I threatened to resign nor do I intend to resign". He then read out a statement which said that the private discussion with Ganguly was "aimed at motivating Sourav for the Bulawayo Test match". He also added that he and Ganguly share a "strong mutual respect going back a long time". Tendulkar commented on the issue saying that the dressing room discussion should have remained private.
Later during the tour, Chappell sent an email to the Board of Control for Cricket in India, which criticised Ganguly as being "mentally and physically unfit" to lead the team. Chappell stated that Ganguly's "negative attitude" would hamper India's development as a unit for the 2007 World Cup and that the injuries suffered by Ganguly are "imaginary". He also accused Ganguly of desperately trying to retain captaincy and that he had "lost the trust and respect of his teammates". The email was leaked, and upon returning to India, both Ganguly and Chappell were summoned to a BCCI board meeting in Mumbai.ESPNcricinfo – India awaits judgment day Before the meeting, Ganguly told a Kolkata-based newspaper, "I will say whatever I want to to the board. I hope the board will give me a chance to explain. You can imagine the character of a person who within hours of a truce goes and writes such an e-mail.". At the conclusion of the meeting, both resolved to work together in the best "interests of Indian cricket".ESPNcricinfo – Chappell and Ganguly both stay
Dissent amongst the team became public when off spinner Harbhajan Singh earned the ire of cricket authorities by publicly attacking Chappell and defending Ganguly after the team returned to India. Harbhajan claimed that Chappell used "double standards" and instilled "fear and insecurity" into the team. The Punjab Cricket Association called him to explain his actions, but he was not punished after offering an apology. Several members of the Indian team backed Ganguly during this time and were unhappy with the way the matters were handled by Chappell, according to some newspapers. This resulted in a gag order being placed on members of the team.ESPNcricinfo – Indian board gags players
Ganguly's ODI omission In October 2005, Ganguly suffered an injury which forced him to be unavailable for the first four ODIs of a seven match ODI series against the touring Sri Lanka. This delayed a definitive decision on whether Ganguly would continue as Indian captain, with Dravid appointed in his absence. After the team took an unbeatable 4–0 series lead, the squad was reviewed for the final three matches. Although changes were made to the team, Ganguly was overlooked, and Dravid continued to lead the team for the rest of the series. At the end of the series which India claimed 6–1, Ganguly was again omitted for the ODI series against South Africa.
When the Indian team arrived at Eden Gardens in Calcutta for the third ODI of the series, an angry public greeted the team bus, chanting and waving banners with anti-Chappell and pro-Ganguly sentiment. Cameras captured a middle finger being displayed to the protestors, attributed to be the finger of Chappell. During the match, the Indian team were booed and the South African batsmen were cheered as they accumulated the runs necessary for a ten-wicket victory.
Test retention and omission
When the squad for the subsequent Test series against Sri Lanka was announced, Ganguly was included at the expense of paceman Zaheer Khan. At the time, BCCI chairman of selectors Kiran More justified the inclusion of Ganguly, as a "batting all rounder", despite Ganguly's Test bowling average being above 50. The announcement also resolved the captaincy issue, with Dravid named as captain, and Virender Sehwag as his deputy.
Before the start of the Test series, Yashpal Sharma, who was replaced in the national selection panel, accused Chappell of questioning his integrity and interfering with selection of the team. Following this, Chappell remarked that his spat with Ganguly was "blown out of proportion" and went on to say, "He [Yashpal] was frustrated that he lost a job which he obviously wanted to keep. I had no part in him losing his job, but he had to take it out on someone.".
Prior to the first Test in Chennai, debate centred on whether batsman Yuvraj Singh, who had been named man of the series against South Africa, would replace Ganguly in the middle order. Ganguly was retained, in a rain affected match, but did not score highly. The Yuvraj-Ganguly debate was taken from the equation for the second Test at Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi, when Sehwag was hospitalised with illness, allowing both to play. Ganguly made 39 and 40 in the Test, while Yuvraj recovered from a first innings duck to score an unbeaten 75 in the second to set up a winning victory target. At the end of the Test, More announced that Ganguly had been dropped from the squad, with Mohammad Kaif replacing him. He justified the decision by stating that it would be inappropriate to leave an experienced player like Ganguly out of the team and on the bench, implying that Ganguly and not Yuvraj would have been dropped on the return of Sehwag. As it turned out, Dravid became ill and was forced to withdraw from the Third Test in Ahmedabad, and Kaif played after being selected with the intention of avoiding Ganguly's humiliation as a reserve batsman. Kaif failed to make a large contribution the Third Test, while Yuvraj scored another half century.
Ganguly reportedly cried after being dropped from the team. The decision to drop Ganguly resulted in widespread sympathy and praise for a man who had been previously reviled by the Indian cricket following, resulting in further street protests in Calcutta. This included organised protests by organisations, politicians, including the blockading of rail transport in Bengal. Ganguly's cause was taken up by federal parliamentarians in the Lok Sabha.
Despite being dropped from both ODI and Test teams, at the end of December 2006, Ganguly retained his A-grade BCCI contract, although Yuvraj and Kaif, who had replaced him in the Test team and were established members of the ODI team, remained on a B-grade contract.
Pakistan tour