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Herald sun
Chappell
fires up Ganguly fans :
17dec05
ANGRY fans of former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly yesterday
blocked roads and conducted mock funerals of coach Greg Chappell yesterday
to protest against the batsman's sacking
About 300 people blocked a busy highway near Ganguly's house in Kolkata and shouted slogans demanding he be reinstated for the third and final Test against Sri Lanka starting on December 18 in Ahmedabad.
Protesters burned effigies of Chappell and team selector Kiran More, holding the two responsible for Ganguly's exclusion from the team.
On Thursday, Indian selectors retained Rahul Dravid as captain for the tour of Pakistan in January and the home series against England in March.
Dravid replaced Ganguly as captain after the latter's public spat with Chappell during a tour of Zimbabwe earlier this year.
Ganguly, whose reign as national skipper lasted five years, holds the Indian record for the most victories in Tests and one-dayers.
Under Ganguly's captaincy, India won 21 Tests and 76 one-day internationals, but his leadership came under a cloud because of poor batting form and the public dispute with the new coach.
The situation worsened after Chappell's critical report regarding Ganguly to the Indian cricket board was leaked to the media
What the Dawn Pakistan 's largest selling English daily says :
Ganguly's ouster sparks protest :
KOLKATA (India), Dec 15: Angry cricket fans in the eastern Indian
state of West Bengal protested Thursday at the axing of former captain
Sourav Ganguly for the third and final Test against Sri Lanka.
Protesters blocked roads and rail tracks at several places in Ganguly's
home town of Kolkata and other districts of the state, police said.
Ignoring political or other differences, hundreds of people rallied behind
Ganguly, condemning the "injustice" done to the batsman.
Ganguly, India's most successful captain with 21 Test wins, was dropped on
Wednesday from the squad for the third and final Test against the visiting
team starting at Ahmedabad on Sunday.
Effigies of Indian coach Greg Chappell and chief selector Kiran More were
burnt and their pictures were garlanded with shoes in Esplanade, a
business hub, and elsewhere in the city, city deputy commissioner Anuj
Sharma said.
Protesters marched chanting slogans, "We want Sourav back" and
"Chappell, More go to hell".
Film stars and eminent personalities of the city also voiced their
protests against the coach and the chief selector.
Soumitra Chatterjee, hero of many of Satyajit Ray's films, told a press
conference it was the saddest treatment that a national hero had ever
received. "It's an act of treachery to cricket that has polluted
sport's atmosphere," he said.
West Bengal Urban Development Minister Asoke Bhattacharya said Ganguly was
a victim of the Indian Cricket Board's politics. "There is no logic
in dropping him after his performance in the Delhi Test," he said.
Ganguly scored 40 and 39 in his team's 188-run victory in the second Test
at Delhi. He has scored 5,150 runs in 86 Tests.
India are leading 1-0 in the ongoing Test series.—Reuters