Ganguly

Sourav Ganguly’s tenure as captain of the Indian national cricket team came to an abrupt and inconspicuous ending this evening as the rumbling dispute between the left-hander and new coach Greg Chappell came to its natural conclusion.

Following Ganguly’s brash press statement that Chappell had demanded his resignation, the news came to light that this was merely an opinion expressed in discussion about the future of the Indian middle order. The coach suggested that the optimum combination was Dravid-Laxman-Yuvraj-Kaif, and that Ganguly ought to consider the future of Indian cricket rather than his own immediate future.

Ganguly reacted furiously, telling vice-captain Rahul Dravid and administrative manager Amitabh Chowdhary that he was leaving the tour only to be persuaded to stay on. However, by taking the matter public, Ganguly has made his relationship with the Chappell untenable, resulting in one man being forced to stand aside.

Rahul Dravid is likely to be appointed as captain in the immediate aftermath for the second Test against Zimbabwe, starting in Harare on Wednesday, whilst Ganguly – who has 5,050 Test runs at an average of 41.39 – seems unlikely to keep his place in the side.