Shastri takes a dig at Ganguly & Co

MUMBAI: There seems to be no thaw in the feisty relationship between Ravi Shastri and Sourav Ganguly. After the new India coach Ravi Shastri had his own way with the appointment of Bharat Arun as the bowling coach, the former India skipper fired another salvo at the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), which in all likelihood was aimed at one of its members,

Ganguly.

“I have matured since I last went to Sri Lanka and I have matured immensely in the last two weeks. Mine will be a refresh button that will be pushed. I carry on from where I left. I don’t come with any baggage. The team has done exceedingly well over three years and they are the people who deserve the cricket more than anybody else,” Shastri said while responding to the two-year contract that will be in place till the 2019 World Cup.

The Ganguly-Shastri spat has been reported upon several occasions in the past year and stemmed from the appointment of outgoing coach Anil Kumble in 2016. Shastri, whose term as team director had concluded after the World T20, was favourite to take up the head coach role. But the CAC comprising Sachin Tendulkar, Ganguly and VVS Laxman recommended Kumble to take charge.

Shortly after, Shastri had reacted, blaming Ganguly for his ouster and termed his approach to the selection process as ‘disrespectful’, referring to Ganguly’s absence during his interview.

Ganguly retaliated by saying, “If Ravi Shastri feels that Sourav Ganguly was responsible for him not being the India coach, he is living in a fool’s world.”

The two seemed to have buried the hatchet over the past year and were seen together on several occasions during TV commentary. But Kumble’s resignation seems to have fuelled the feud again.

The recent selection process amid rumours of Virat Kohli’s influence on the appointment of the coach put Shastri in the driving seat. Ganguly though, praised Virat for his abstinence from the selection process but also added that the skipper must understand how coaches function.