Former India head coach Greg Chappell has sided with Chris Broad, saying that then-BCCI chief Jagmohan Dalmiya did make him an offer to reduce Sourav Ganguly’s suspension due to over-rate offences, to ensure
that he was available for a tour of Sri Lanka.
It is worth noting that in an interview with The Telegraph, Broad disclosed that an influential individual had offered to lift Ganguly’s ban.
Broad said that he was unable to take action against the then-India skipper after receiving instructions from higher authorities. Speaking to The Sydney Morning Herald, Chappell,
who had a fallout with Ganguly during his coaching stint, revealed that Dalmiya had approached him with an offer to ‘organise’ something to ensure Ganguly’s availability for the tour.Chappell stated that Dalmiya offered to have the skipper’s suspension reduced so that he could participate in a tour to Sri Lanka.
“Dalmiya offered to have his suspension reduced so that he (Ganguly) could go to Sri Lanka at the start of my tenure. I said no, I don’t want to rort the system, he has to do his time. Dalmiya seemed OK for him to miss,” Chappell said.
Ganguly was fined by Broad after the third ODI between India and Pakistan in Jamshedpur in April 2005. Later in the same series, he faced a six-game ban for a repeat offence, though the suspension was reduced to four matches after an appeal.
In September that year, Ganguly was handed a two-game suspension by another match referee, former Windies skipper Clive Lloyd, for committing a second over-rate offence within a year.
By that time, Chappell had taken over as India’s coach in May 2005. The Sydney Morning Herald reached out to both the BCCI and the International Cricket Council for comments on Broad’s remarks, while Cricket Australia directed the inquiry to the ICC.
