Shastri tears into Ganguly, calls his absence from interview disrespectful
Jun 29, 2016 at 10:36 AM
The news of the appointment of Anil Kumble, the Indian legend as the head coach of the national side has seen many a prominent personality raise some eyebrows.
Ravi Shastri, who had a decent stint with the national side till earlier this year was left hanging during the interview as he missed out on a permanent place as the coach of the side and he was evidently furious with the procedure that saw Kumble appointed.
The Cricket Advisory Committee that included the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly, and VVS Laxman was vested with the power of appointing the new coach after conducting interviews of all the candidates who applied.
However, it was understood that during Ravi Shastri’s interview, CAB president Saurav Ganguly was not present alongside his former teammates.
And this made the former Indian coach very unhappy.
Shastri came out in public and revealed that he does not have a problem with the former Indian skipper but had some harsh words for him.
He said that though he was disappointed to miss out on the opportunity and went on saying, “Nothing surprises me in Indian cricket anymore. A member of the committee (Ganguly) wasn’t present and that was disrespectful to the selection process,” as he lashed on to Ganguly for his absence in an interview with India Today.
Shastri’s time with the national side in the last two years saw many feel that he was hot favorites to retain the spot but Anil Kumble’s connection with the former players may have helped him secure the job according to sources.
However, Shastri was not happy with the way the way he was treated and was angry with the absence of Ganguly from the interview.
In a personal message to the Bengal batsman, Shastri said, “Next time, be present in a meeting, especially when it is as important as this one.”
However, he did not criticize the process of selection and felt that he did everything he could to possibly land the job for another year.
“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,” Shastri said.
He signed off expressing his disappointment of missing out on the job even after a decent stint with the nation side in recent times.