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Embittered Ganguly lashes out at the selectors

— Photo: AP

MEETING UP: Sourav Ganguly sharing a light moment with former India coach Greg Chappell on the eve of the Test in Bangalore.

Kolkata: In an angry outburst, Sourav Ganguly has taken on the National selectors for the way he has been treated and said he decided to retire to save himself the humiliation of being treated as the “sacrificial goat” all the time.

Ganguly said there was no point in carrying on playing cricket if he was treated in such a manner while some of the other players were spared.

“There is no point playing like this. I am not willing to play at their (selectors’) mercy. They will pick you now and then dump you. Why should I be the sacrificial goat all the time? It was difficult to accept,” Ganguly, who announced his retirement from international cricket on Tuesday, said.

“If a gun is held at your head, how far can you bear it. That too after playing 450 matches. I played badly in only one series. But others are not dropped. I have scored the highest number of runs after comeback,” he was quoted as saying by Bengali daily Aaj Kal.

“How long would I have played? May be upto 2009. May be seven more Tests. For that I was not prepared to take any more humiliation,” he added.

Ganguly said being dropped from the Rest of India squad for the Irani Trophy by the selection panel led by Vengsarkar was the last nail in the coffin and he thought he had faced enough humilation by then.

“I never thought I will be out of the Irani team. I couldn’t sleep for one month in anger, agony. Had this committee (new selection committee) come three years ago, things might have been different,” said the 36-year-old left hander.

When reminded of Sunil Gavaskar’s comments that he and V.V.S. Laxman are always put under pressure, Ganguly was at his sarcastic best.

“Everything happens in Indian cricket. When Greg Chappell dropped me, he chose T.P. Singh to replace me. Where is he now?” Ganguly asked.

“Some have not scored any runs in the last three series, some have not scored any run during the last one year. Some have changed their hairstyle more number of times than the number of runs they have scored. I was dropped despite scoring the highest number of runs following my comeback.”

Being dropped for the Irani Trophy hurt Ganguly so much that he considered it more painful than being sacked from the team after a spat with then coach Chappell.

“Exclusion from the Irani team hurt more. Then I thought, it is the end,” he said when asked which of the two was more painful.

With all the trials and tribulations in his eventful but illustrious 16-year-long international career, Ganguly is a satisfied man.

“I have played 109 Tests, over 300 ODIs. I took the team to the World Cup final. Defeated Australia in Australia. Won the series in Pakistan, altogether 21 Test wins. But, you don’t get everything you want,” he said.

The Bengal stalwart said he carefully mulled over his retirement decision.

“I have thought over it a lot. I took the decision after considering everything. I thought it was the best time to go. I wanted to end the matter before the (Australia) series started.

“All speculation was telling on me. The selectors said something and did something else.” — PTI

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