Sourav Ganguly admits hiring Greg Chappell was his biggest mistake

Sourav Ganguly, who recommended Greg Chappell as India's cricket coach, has now said that it was the “biggest mistake” of his career. Ganguly, who was the Team India captain at that time, later had a spat with the Chappell which paved his exit from the team and he lost his captaincy. 

Ganguly admitted that he regrets his decision to hire Chappell and has not spoken to the Australian for a long time.  Ganguly had backed Chappell for the India coach job after the former Australia opener had helped him with his batting in Australia during the 2003-04 tour. 

“Hiring him was the biggest mistake of my career. I had known a different person from a stint as my batting coach in Australia. I don’t know what led to our relationship breaking down. After the 2007 World Cup, I haven’t interacted with him,” the former Indian captain told Hindustan Times.

Ganguly said that what happened to him shouldn’t happen to anyone. "Yes, you will get dropped, but it should never get personal. Every athlete should be judged by what happens in the park,” he added. 

Ganguly was removed as captain and dropped in 2005.

“Losing the captaincy came like a bolt from the blue. You are hurt but you can’t show it because you have to put that behind you and make a comeback. That was a huge learning experience because, for nearly a decade, things had only gone up for me. It made me tougher,” Ganguly recalled.

Ganguly also said that nothing changed between him and Rahul Dravid, who took over as captain after him. 

Sourav Ganguly's autobiography, A Century Is Not Enough, has just come out.

Sourav also revealed that losing the 2003 World Cup final was his biggest disappointment while his Test debut, in June 1996, was his best moment.