
The smile8217;s back on skipper Sourav Ganguly8217;s face. And it8217;s not just the Kochi win that did the trick.
On April Fool8217;s Day, the match eve, some of his teammates got together to pull a prank on the skipper, with Harbhajan playing the lead role 8216;8216;to perfection8217;8217;.
And at the end of it all, there were smiles all round, the Bangalore humiliation was put firmly aside and the right note struck for the Kochi game, team manager Wing Commander Bal Aditya told The Sunday Express.
The prank? Well, the team decided to target Ganguly with a 8216;news report8217;, which had the skipper lambasting key team-members and coach John Wright.
It quoted Ganguly as saying:
8226; Harbhajan should be banned by ICC because he chucks
8226; Zaheer Khan breaks down after every two matches and he is not fit
8226; Yuvraj Singh does not concentrate on his game
8226; Vice-captain Rahul Dravid does not give his best under Sourav8217;s captaincy
8226; Coach John Wright should be replaced by Greg Chappell
Everybody named in the 8216;report8217; was taken into confidence and printouts quickly taken. Then, some of the players named started taking turns to confront Ganguly about his 8216;8216;remarks8217;8217;.
A stunned skipper denied the charges vehemently and was on the verge of despair when the team manager cut in and called the bluff. 8216;8216;Till late last night, Sourav kept saying how much better he felt after that prank,8217;8217; said Aditya.