Peeved by the public spat between Shastri and Sourav, former India skipper Bishan Bedi reckons the CAB president should have kept cool instead of 'taking his gloves off'
"Where's the need to rake up all this nonsense?" Bishan Singh Bedi demands an answer as fellow former India captain Sourav Ganguly slams Ravi Shastri on television for speaking out on his absence at the Team India head coach selection in Kolkata last week.
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Bishan Singh Bedi
"The media will have a ball," chuckles Bedi. He defends Shastri's view of being "disappointed but not miffed" at missing out on becoming head coach of an outfit he enjoyed guiding.
Keep your cool, Dada
"Look, Ravi spoke out because he was disappointed. It's natural and I can understand that because he got dropped. But there is no need for Ganguly to react. He should have kept cool instead of taking his gloves off," says Bedi.
The Delhi-based all-time great spinner feels the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) working committee meeting which prevented CAB chief Ganguly from interviewing Shastri (on Skype) for the job should have been shifted to another time.
Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly was appointed as president of Cricket Association of Bengal after Jagmohan Dalmiya's demise last year. Pic/Atul Kamble
"The meeting could have been adjusted. The working committee meeting is a domestic affair while the coach interview is an international commitment. It's ridiculous that there is a controversy involving two India captains… it's stupid and undesirable," he says.
Also Read: Ganguly-Shastri row: 'Ravi living in fool's world', retorts angry Sourav
'Criticism part of job'
As an administrator, Ganguly should be taking criticism on his chin, Bedi reckons. "You can't be reacting to every criticism. This (criticism) is part of your job. People in authority should never be in a position to prove a point.
"There were three others in that committee (Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and coordinator Sanjay Jagdale). You (Ganguly) don't have to prove any point," he says.
Also Read: It's not about me or Ravi Shastri, it's about players: Anil Kumble
What could Ganguly have done in response to Shastri's outburst? Bedi suggests: "You could have just rung him and thrashed it out instead of going to the media. Ravi did not go to the media — he was asked questions."
Bedi's heart goes out to Anil Kumble: "Think about what all this will do to Kumble who has just taken over. This (fight) has created a mess; it's such a petty issue."
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