‘He wanted to coach KKR with me as captain’ – Sourav Ganguly recalls surprise email from Greg Chappell

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has revealed that former India coach Greg Chappell once approached him in 2011 with an interest in coaching the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Despite their well-documented fallout during Chappell’s tenure with the Indian team, Ganguly disclosed that he received an email from the Australian expressing his desire to become KKR’s coach while Ganguly remained captain of the franchise.

Recalling the incident, Ganguly said the email was ultimately ignored, adding that many would have found it hard to believe that Chappell could convince him again after their turbulent history in Indian cricket. The revelation offers a surprising glimpse into a chapter that could have reunited two of cricket’s most talked-about figures at the Indian Premier League (IPL) level.

“He (Chappell) had emailed me in 2011, when I was KKR captain. I was checking my mail one morning at my England home. I saw his mail and thought, ‘Am I still sleeping?’. Then I checked it properly, checked the name and checked the ID, because a lot of fake mails come. He wanted to coach KKR. With me as captain! “(People) must be thinking that Dada couldn’t be that big of a fool. He might have been a fool once, but surely he couldn’t be fooled again,” Ganguly said on the AddaGB podcast.

The rift between former Ganguly and Chappell remains one of the most controversial episodes in Indian cricket. Their relationship deteriorated in 2005 soon after Chappell took charge of the national team. Ganguly was removed as captain and replaced by Rahul Dravid before eventually being dropped from the Test side in 2006 following a public fallout with the coach.

The decision triggered widespread criticism and protests from fans, but Ganguly fought his way back into the Indian team across formats. Reflecting on their relationship years later, Ganguly revealed he does not respond to the Australian’s messages anymore. In IPL, Ganguly has scored 1349 runs in 59 matches including seven fifties.