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NEWS India-South Africa Series 2006>TV channel claims Sehwag and Chappell were engaged in a feud 06th Feb 2007 22.45 IST By Agencies Indian cricket plunged into a fresh controversy with a television channel today disclosing that Virender Shewag and coach Greg Chappell were involved in a feud during India's disastrous tour of South Africa. Apart from the heated argument between Chappell and Sehwag, there were also serious differences while selecting the team for the Test matches, according to 'Times Now'.
The channel, quoting team manager Chetan's Desai's confidential report to the BCCI, said the argument between Chappell and Sehwag occurred when the out-of-form opener refused to attend a special practice session on the eve of the Durban Test. When contacted, BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah said the manager's report was with President Sharad Pawar and he had no comments to make at this stage. "I don't want to say anything on it. The manager's report is with the President", he said. "All I can say is that Sehwag was not dropped because of any disciplinary issue. He was dropped purely on form," he said. The report said Chappell and expert bio-mechanist Ian Fraser came to the nets but did not find Sehwag. Later Sehwag told Chappell that he did want to practice, which angered the former Australian captain. Desai's report also claimed that pacer Munaf Patel was not fully fit to the play in the third Test and held captain Rahul Dravid largely responsible for the defeat in that crucial match in Cape Town. Desai claimed that physio John Gloster hid Munaf's injury till the last, which allowed him to play in Cape Town. Giving instances of differences during selection meetings, the team manager said in his report that Dravid insisted on having Sehwag in the team despite his poor form. "In that meeting after a lot of deliberation, it was finally decided to drop Sehwag. The next day Dravid during the practice session suggested that after seeing the wicket he was of the opinion that it would be a spinners' track and he would want to have Sehwag as the next option as a spinner," he said in his report. "I objected and told Greg, Dravid and Dilip (Vengsarkar) that if it was a spinners' track, they could have Harbhajan in the team. Greg mentioned that Harbhajan was not bowling well. At this point I said if Harbhajan is not in the team, then why Sehwag, who is not batting well, is in the team. "Vengsarkar mentioned to Dravid if Sehwag failed and India lost the match there would be heavy backlash back home to which Dravid replied that he was prepared for it," he said. Desai, when contacted, declined to comment, saying he had submitted his report to the BCCI President and the matter was closed as far as he was concerned. Also View In-Depth Coverage: India-South Africa Series 2006 Team Page: India Team Page: South Africa | LIVE CRICKET COVERAGE NEWS ~ Gilchrist has no plans to retire after World Cup ~ Ganguly's new batting approach may cost him sixer record ~ India 'squash the Orange' in World Cup warm-up game ~ Symonds gets a new hairdo for World Cup ~ Dhoni readies himself for stand-up act at World Cup (more in NEWS) FACE-TO-FACE ~ 500-mark a possibility in World Cup: Hayden ~ Minnows add charm to World Cup: Dravid (more in FACE-TO-FACE) COLUMNS ~ Will Sri Lanka replicate 1996 World Cup success? (more in COLUMNS) OFF-THE-FIELD ~ Ganguly again the darling of corporate world ~ Ganguly roped in as brand ambassador of Puma (more in OFF-THE-FIELD) PLAYERS Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble (more PLAYERS) TEAMS India, South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, West Indies, Zimbabwe, England, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Kenya, Holland | 
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