Old hatchets are not buried so easily: Shastri uneasy in speaking about Ganguly

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Some cricketers can never be friends again, like former Indian captains Sourav Ganguly and Ravi Shastri. No matter what happens, they are unlikely to ever bury the hatchet. A fresh glimpse of their long-standing rift surfaced when commentators were discussing the batters who scored the fastest century in Champions Trophy history.

Unsurprisingly, Shastri announced Virender Sehwag’s name, and a clip from the 2002 Champions Trophy match against England flashed on the screen. He went on to enthusiastically speak about Sehwag’s innings until the match summary appeared.

As Shastri repeated Sehwag’s achievement while the brief scorecard aired, former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly’s name popped up. However, Shastri initially avoided mentioning him directly, simply stating that there was “another century there.”

After a brief pause, Shastri finally acknowledged Ganguly’s name on the scorecard. However, the hesitation after mentioning Sehwag — deliberately avoiding Ganguly’s name at first — speaks volumes.

Their long-standing rift, dating back to Ganguly’s playing days, is far from being resolved anytime soon. In that Champions Trophy game in Colombo, India chased down a winning target of 270 against England, winning by eight wickets—thanks to their openers, who both scored centuries. Sehwag smashed a 77-ball hundred, the fastest in Champions Trophy history, while Ganguly, in his prime, scored 117 off 109 balls.