Ganguly takes exception to Ian Chappell's comments

Indian captain Sourav Ganguly has taken strong exception to some of the comments by former Australian captain Ian Chappell in his column, saying "he has no business talking about things he doesn't know of first hand".

"I've been deeply distressed by some of Ian Chappell's comments. While I respect Chappell's right to be critical of my batting and captaincy, he has no business talking about things he doesn't know of first hand," Ganguly said today in a rejoinder published on the front page of "The Telegraph", in which the Australian writes his column.

"Specifically I object to his observation that I am arrogant towards fellow players and that I don't treat them with enough respect," he said. Ganguly said these comments were not only 'unwarranted' but terribly misplaced. "How does Chappell know what goes on in our dressing room? Also, what does he know of my relationship with teammates? Frankly, either Chappell is himself ignorant or has made the observations at the behest of somebody else. This isn't cricket."

The former Australian captain had said in his column yesterday: "Sourav Ganguly has made a number of poor decisions lately (not all of them on the field), however, it is his arrogance towards his fellow players that is the biggest threat to his tenuous hold on captaincy. That and his inability to make big scores in Test matches against teams with a strong attack... If Ganguly can't change that trend in this series (the signs were not promising in Mumbai) and in the process treat his players with more respect, not only is the Gavaskar-Border trophy lost but his leadership is in peril."