Kumar Sangakkara recalled the heated argument between Sourav Ganguly and Russel Arnold during the 2002 Champions Trophy final. The duo shared a heated argument in the field after Russel had stepped on the main area of the pitch. Ganguly was infuriated and walked toward the Sri Lankan batsman and gave an earful to him. Russel too didn’t hold back and had a few words to say. Eventually, the umpires had to intervene to cool things down.
However, everyone knows the on-field jibe between the two but Kumar Sangakkara shared an interesting incident that took place after the match. Notably, the final ended in no result because of the rain interruption and India and Sri Lanka both were declared joint winners of the ICC Champions Trophy 2002.
I think Dada was on his final warning and the umpire reported him: Kumar Sangakkara
As the two teams went back to their pavilion, Ganguly went to Sri Lanka to sort out things regarding his argument with Arnold. The former wicketkeeper-batsman has shared the whole story while talking to the Cricket Connected Show on Star Sports.
“I remember one very specific incident in a one-day match where he was having this big argument with Russel Arnold. I think Dada was on his final warning and the umpire reported him,” Sangakkara said.
“Dada came to our dressing room and had a chat to us that if this goes the whole distance, he was going to get suspended. And we told him not to worry and that we were not going to make a big deal about it and he was going to be okay.”
Sangakkara and Ganguly have been rivals on the field but off the field, the former Sri Lanka wicketkeeper is believed to share a healthy and cordial relationship with the former Indian captain.