“In opposition to Gautam Gambhir’s selection as India’s coach,” Sourav Ganguly receives backlash for his oblique tweet directed at the BCCI

Ganguly’s remarks on X coincide with the rise of Gautam Gambhir, the coach of the Kolkata Knight Riders, as the front-runner to succeed Rahul Dravid as the India coach

In an oblique message to the board, former BCCI president Sourav Ganguly advised the administrators to “choose the coach wisely” amid rampant rumors over the next head coach of Team India. Ganguly’s remarks on X coincide with the rise of Gautam Gambhir, the current coach of the Kolkata Knight Riders and a former opener for India, as the front-runner to succeed Rahul Dravid as India’s head coach following the T20 World Cup.

Ganguly emphasized the importance of having a competent coach. “A coach’s influence in a player’s life, direction, and unwavering training mold a player’s destiny on and off the field. Thus, make informed decisions about the coach and the school,” the former captain of India stated on X.

Many different responses were triggered by Ganguly’s tweet among online users. While some thought the former batter remembered his difficult moments as a player working under Greg Chappell, many others wondered if Ganguly had any objections to Gambhir perhaps being appointed.

After John Wright’s contract expired, former Australian batter Chappell was appointed India’s head coach thanks in large part to the efforts of Ganguly, the team’s captain at the time. A friendship was supposedly formed between Chappell and Ganguly during India’s 2003–04 Australian tour, when Chappell allegedly helped the left-hander flourish on upbeat Australian tracks.

But things did not last long between Ganguly and Chappell. The discord escalated to such an extent that Ganguly lost his job as captain and was removed from the team following the alleged leak of the BCCI coach’s email.

Although Ganguly returned in 2006, his connection with Chappell was never the same. Gradually, even senior members of the team began to voice their disapproval of the Australian coach’s methods. After India’s elimination from the 2007 ODI World Cup group stage, he was fired.

There are no discernible distinctions between Gambhir and Ganguly. Both of them have frequently appeared in public, even off the field. However, after Gangily was unable to lead Kolkata to victory in the IPL during the first three seasons, Gambhir took over as captain of the KKR team. In his first three seasons as KKR captain, the opening won two trophies. During one of those seasons, an IPL match between Sahara Pune Warriors and KKR split the Eden Gardens audience. In the 2012 IPL, Ganguly led Pune as captain.