Sourav Ganguly came to our dressing room after Russel Arnold clash in 2002 Champions Trophy final: Kumar Sangakkara

Former Sri Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakkara has recalled an incident involving former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly and former Sri Lankan batsman Russel Arnold in the 2002 Champions Trophy final.

During the game, Russel Arnold was repeatedly running on the pitch and Ganguly was seen constantly getting in the batsman's face to remind him of his error. One thing led to another and things got so ugly between the duo that the umpires had to intervene.

Sourav Ganguly was on his final warning and subsequently did not want to get into another controversy. This is why he chose to visit Sri Lanka's dressing room after the game was washed out and both India and Sri Lanka were declared joint winners. When he got in the dressing room, Dada tried to make his opponents understand that if they appealed for misconduct, he might get suspended.

Speaking on the Cricket Connected Show on Star Sports, Kumar Sangakkara said:

"I remember one very specific incident in a one-day match where he was having this big argument with Russel Arnold. I think Dada (Sourav Ganguly) was on his final warning and the umpire reported him. Dada came to our dressing room and had a chat to us that if this goes the whole distance, he was going to get suspended. And we told him not to worry and that we were not going to make a big deal about it and he was going to be okay.”

Sourav Ganguly was a very practical man: Kumar Sangakkara

Kumar Sangakkara is the current president of the MCC while Sourav Ganguly is the current president of the BCCI. Both have been fierce competitors on the field but Sangakkara revealed that he truly got to know Ganguly as a person off the field. He said:

“Dada was a very practical man. He understood exactly what he could and how far he could push it on the field. But off the field, he is a fantastic guy. I have had a great time in conversations with him at various times over meals and he was a guy I really respected both on and off the field.”