Nayeem

Calcutta: The Board’s review panel exonerated Sourav Ganguly, but the damage caused by Greg Chappell’s leaked e-mail is unlikely to ever be repaired. The Team India captain, though, can draw comfort from what the Nasser Hussains have been saying.

Thus far, of course, the pro and anti-Sourav debate has almoost exclusively been confined to the cricket fraternity. On Tuesday, the much-decorated Syed Nayeemuddin entered the ‘ring’ and landed a flurry of punches for Sourav.

“I’m amazed at the lack of respect for Sourav’s achievements... To me, records matter and it hurts that his achievements have been forgotten so quickly... Surely, winning nearly a hundred (97, in fact) matches is not a small matter,” Nayeem, back as India’s soccer coach after seven years, told The Telegraph.

An Asian Games bronze medal-winning captain himself, he added: “I have nothing against Chappell, but the coach has to be sensitive in his dealings, particularly when somebody with over 15,000 Test and ODI runs is his captain. Sourav wouldn’t have come so far if he was petty and indisciplined.”

Nayeem, who worshipped Mansur Ali Khan ‘Tiger’ Pataudi for over a decade, also said that cricket lends itself to the captain being the boss and no coach should begin believing his powers are on a par with those who manage soccer teams.

Sourav

“Soccer is played at such a furious pace that a captain doesn’t have the time to pause and re-draw strategy. That’s done by the coach, who is on the sidelines. Cricket is different, which is why many are applauded as thinking and innovative captains.”

Asked whether the Sourav-Chappell truce would hold, Nayeem replied: “I hope so... Both have to respect each other and respect each other’s roles... However, as I’ve pointed out, Chappell must be sensitive... The notion that foreigners know best is terribly misplaced. Moreover, they can’t be as passionate as somebody from the country itself.”

Nayeem, by the way, intends inviting Sourav to have a “chat” with the national players.

“Obviously, a suitable date has to be worked out, but it will be nice if Sourav gets to interact with them... A session with him is going to be a privilege... I’ve already announced I’ll be asking my gurus (P.K. Banerjee and Chuni Goswami, for example) to have a chat with the boys.”

The SAFF Cup, in December, is going to be Nayeem’s first assignment. Characteristically, he’s looking for passion bordering on madness from those he will be working with.

Like Sourav, Nayeem ? whose mantra is “if you don’t prepare, you’re preparing for failure” ? doesn’t fit a stereotype.

Footnote: Board president Ranbir Singh Mahendra has indicated Sourav is on notice, but that applies to Chappell as well. “Both have been told they’re going to be judged by results. Both accepted that,” informed a member of the review panel.