India's cricket crisis worsens

NEW DELHI, Monday (AFP) Indian cricket plunged deeper into turmoil Monday as players and officials lined up to take sides in the damaging rift between coach Greg Chappell and captain Sourav Ganguly.

A worried Indian cricket chief Ranbir Singh Mahendra tried to impose a gag order amid fears of unbridgeable divisions in the national team.

Mahendra warned players of "serious consequences" if they aired their views after off-spinner Harbhajan Singh announced the team had "developed a sense of insecurity because of the coach's attitude and double standards."

Chappell and Ganguly were due to appear before a high-powered panel of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in Mumbai on Tuesday to discuss the spat that has snowballed into a major crisis.

The BCCI panel includes three former captains, Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri and Srinivas Venkataraghvan besides Mahendra and his powerful predecessor Jagmohan Dalmiya.

It is the same panel which appointed Chappell, the former Australian captain, coach in June for a two-year period till the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean. Relations between Chappell and Ganguly soured on the recent Zimbabwe tour and culminated in the coach writing a confidential e-mail to the BCCI saying the captain was unfit to lead India.

The 2,334 word e-mail, which was leaked to the media, spoke of Chappell's distrust of Ganguly, the country's most successful captain with 21 Test wins, seven more than second-placed Mohammad Azharuddin.

Chappell wrote: "I have serious reservations about the attitude of some players and about Sourav and his ability to take this team to a new high, and none of the things he has done since his reappointment has caused me to change my view.

"In fact, it has only served to confirm that it is time for him to move on and let someone else build their team toward the 2007 World Cup. "This team has been made to be fearful and distrusting by the rumour mongering and deceit that is Sourav's modus operandi of divide and rule.

"We have developed parameters of batting, bowling, fielding and captaincy ... and Sourav falls well below the acceptable level in all areas."

Ganguly reacted to the e-mail saying he also had a lot to say, but would give his side of the story to the BCCI panel.

Harbhajan, a senior member of the Test and one-day team, rubbished Chappell's charge and said he hoped the entire team would be allowed to speak to the panel.

"There are many in the team who have suffered a loss of confidence because of the coach's attitude and double standards," said Harbhajan.

"It would not be wrong to say the entire team has developed a sense of insecurity under this coach." Former BCCI president Raj Singh Dungarpur said Ganguly had "no place in the future of Indian cricket", but warned nothing would be settled at Tuesday's meeting.

"The same panel which appointed Chappell just three months ago is unlikely to turn against him. And Ganguly has a strong backer in Dalmiya who is also there on the panel.

"If Dalmiya did not rule Indian cricket, Ganguly would have gone a long time ago. They will try and thrash out a compromise, but for how long that works remains to be seen."

Former Australian captain Ian Chappell warned the BCCI to expect some tough talking from younger brother Greg on Tuesday.

"If Indian cricket wanted someone who would passionately seek to help players ... would do his utmost to put the best team on the field without fear or favour and would offer a frank opinion when asked, then they were on the right track with Greg Chappell," Ian wrote in a column for Mumbai's Mid-Day newspaper.

"Greg can be a very patient man, much more diplomatic than either his father or his elder brother. However, if you don't want to hear the truth, then don't ask him for a frank opinion.