Hours before a BCCI review panel meets at Mumbai’s Taj Mahal Hotel to hear Greg Chappell and Sourav Ganguly’s versions of the biggest crisis ever to hit Indian cricket, the first whiff of a compromise is in the air. Asked if Chappell or Ganguly should go now, a senior Board official told The Indian Express: ‘‘Certainly not Chappell. Certainly not Ganguly. We wouldn’t want either to go. But if the selectors take a decision on Ganguly because of his performance, what can we do?’’ The deal that could be worked out: Chappell stays. Ganguly too—for now. But the skipper may be given a deadline of one or even two more series to get back into form. The big question, of course, is will Chappell bite the bait? Even if Ganguly is reprimanded and put on notice as captain, as another BCCI official indicated. Sources say that the Board has already initiated back-channel talks with Chappell. On the face of it, the compromise seems to be a straight vote for the coach. As the official said: ‘‘There was no spat. It was just an honest expression by the coach.’’ However, it also presents a large window of hope for Ganguly. For, the next two engagements for Team India are at home—against Sri Lanka from October 25-November 12 and versus South Africa from November 16-28—the best possible stage for the skipper to script a batting comeback. Tomorrow afternoon, the focus will also be on the review committee—Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri, S Venkataraghavan, Jagmohan Dalmiya and Ranbir Singh Mahendra—which put its stamp on Chappell’s CV in the first place. The final decision, officially, will be taken by the BCCI later. While the panel members arrived here tonight, the skipper has delayed his trip following the death of his maternal grandfather. He is expected to be here tomorrow morning.
