Never said I can't control Greg Chappell: Rahul Dravid denies Sourav Ganguly's claims

Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly

Rahul Dravid has firmly denied Sourav Ganguly’s remarks that he had told him he could not control Greg Chappell despite knowing that the Australian was trying to get rid of senior players from the team during his tenure as the Indian head coach between 2005-07.

Dravid, in an interview to Headlines Today, said: "If Ganguly is saying I could not control Greg Chappell, he is entitled to an opinion. He has played many years for India. But he can't put words in my mouth as I have never had any such conversation with him."

The 41-year-old added: “I have had a good relationship with all the coaches I have worked under."

Backstory

Ganguly, in response to Sachin Tendulkar’s allegations against Chappell in his autobiography, had earlier said: "I really don't want to go back to that period, you have seen it in the results. (It was) one of the worst phases of Indian cricket and worst phase a cricketer can go through, especially someone like me. There were lies after lies and six months later he wanted Rahul removed and Sachin as captain. This goes on to show how the man went about his job."

He added: "I was not surprised to see India not qualifying for the next round (in 2007 World Cup). When I came back to the team, I had spoken to Dravid about that much later and told him that these were the things going on. He said he knew it all but 'couldn't control Greg'."

Tendulkar, in his yet-to-be released book ‘Playing it My Way’, revealed Chappell’s plans to replace Dravid as captain months prior to the 2007 50-over World Cup.

He writes, "Just months before the World Cup, Chappell had come to see me at home and, to my dismay, suggested that I should take over the captaincy from Rahul Dravid. Anjali [Tendulkar's wife], who was sitting with me was equally shocked to hear him say that 'together, we could control Indian cricket for years', and that he would help me in taking over the reins of the side.

"I was surprised to hear the coach not showing the slightest amount of respect for the captain, with cricket's biggest tournament just months away. He stayed for a couple of hours, trying to convince me, before finally leaving."