Ravi Shastri vs Sourav Ganguly: All you need to know about the war of words

The feud between two former Indian cricket team captains turned uglier on Wednesday after Sourav Ganguly lashed out at Ravi Shastri saying that Shastri was "living in a fool's world" if he held him responsible for not getting appointed as the Indian team's coach.

Ganguly was responding to Shastri's remarks following the appointment of Anil Kumble to the coveted post. 

How it all began

Shastri had been serving as the Indian team's director for 18 months, but he was eventually overlooked for the position of the Indian coach as the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI's) cricket advisory committee decided in favour of former Indian captain Anil Kumble.

Subsequent to his unsuccessful bid, while speaking to India Today, Shastri brought Ganguly, who was a member of the advisory committee, into the mix.

According to the report, Shastri said: "Nothing surprises me in Indian cricket anymore. A member of the committee (Ganguly) wasn't present and that was disrespectful to the selection process."

Not stopping there, according to the report, Shastri went on to give some advise to Ganguly. "Next time, be present in a meeting, especially when it is as important as this one," Shastri said. 

However, the report added that Shastri did not criticise the selection process. "I had a job to do which was to apply for the job and appear for the interview. I don't have to say anything about the process," said Shastri.

What happened next

Ganguly, for his part, was not amused to say the least. 

Reacting to Shastri's remarks, Ganguly said: "I read in a couple of newspapers and chose to ignore it. I am extremely saddened that he went on air to express his view. Specially someone who has been in every BCCI committee for the last 20 years. He has been in my position for selecting the coach 10 years back. He is aware of everything. I informed BCCI on June 19th and I have got official mails. I will circulate those mails once I get a clearance from BCCI."

    

Ganguly also revealed his itinerary of the day on which Shastri was interviewed.

"I had informed BCCI that there was a CAB (Cricket Association of Bengal) Working Committee meeting that day. Being a president of CAB, I had to chair the meeting. Also the notification for a Working Committee is always given 14 days in advance whereas this meeting was fixed two days in advance. Ravi's meeting was scheduled at 4:15 pm and I guess Ravi has got that received as well. BCCI had sent him the time," Ganguly said, adding, "Now while interviewing other candidates, it went past 5 pm and I came out of the meeting. Then Mr (Ajay) Shirke (BCCI secretary) called me and said that others (Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and co-ordinator Sanjay Jagdale) are requesting if they can continue (with the interviews). I said, fine, let's do that as it happens everywhere in the world. That's exactly what happened and I feel comments are very personal in nature."

The feud escalates

However, Ganguly, who is not known for his docility, did not stop there.

Apart from the clarification over his absence during the interview, a furious Ganguly gave it back to Shastri.

Denying any hand or particular role in Shastri's rejection, Ganguly said that he felt that Shastri's comments had been personal and questioned Shastri's seriousness over having given his interview while "holidaying in Bangkok".

It seems that it was Shastri's suggestion, directed at Ganguly, that really hit a spot. 

In a terse rebuttal, Ganguly said, "It angers me that he gave a suggestion that I should be available for such meetings. I have been a part of BCCI meetings for some time and I have always been available. My advice to Ravi is that when the coach of India is selected and one of the most important jobs, he should be in front of the committee and not sit in Bangkok and give a presentation while being on a holiday."

Who won?

No one it seems.

But Indian cricket lost face. All the parties concerned, including the newly appointed Kumble, are former Indian captains. All of them are respected figures, if not quite the 'elders', of the game. 

While Shastri did not question the selection process itself, by implying that there might have been some personal animosity harboured by a selection committee member towards him, he opened the doors for doubts over whether such personal biases had affected the chances of the other candidates or given a boost to Kumble's bid.

Kumble, who has just taken over the reigns, did not need such a controversy surrounding his appointment. 

While Ganguly, one of India's most successful captains, was forced to come out with a rebuttal in public.

Indian cricket doesn't need any fresh controversies.