Ganguly digs his own grave

By John Cheeran
Sourav Ganguly has dug his own grave in Lahore, even before he took up the bat in defence of his presence in the side.
The schism was out in the open.
If you were nursing any doubt that Team India skipper Rahul Dravid does not see eye to eye with the Lord Irritant Sourav Ganguly, now you can discard after watching the television footage from Lahore, that is even before play began on Friday.
India coach Greg Chappell, however, has denied any rift in the team.
His deadpan comment on the subject was: “It was nothing, we were just discussing cricket. Why do you people have to read more into everything?”
I admire Chappell’s composure. That’s the way he is expected to handle such a situation. But like many an occasion in the past, words are only words and you can reach your own conclusions in this case.
An agency report from Lahore said the discussion centered around who would open the innings.
Asked why Ganguly had been selected to play in the first Test against Pakistan, Chappell said the best and most experienced team had been picked.
He added that no decision had been taken on whether Ganguly would open for India. "We have not decided on this as yet. But we will have the best possible batting line up," Chappell said.
Indian team manager Raj Singh Dungarpur said there had been no pressure to recall Ganguly to the test side. "There was no pressure from the board to pick Saurav. We all thought it best to put this matter to rest by playing him," he said.