There’s been no official comment in Sri Lanka Cricket circles over the ongoing verbal fracas between Sourav Ganguly and Greg Chappell. But there is plenty being said behind closed doors, accompanied by the sort of smiles you might expect from india’s neighbours.Sri Lanka are Team India’s next opponents — in a seven-match ODI series late next month — and the players have mixed feelings about the mental state of their opposition. On the one hand they are bullish over what’s going on. Comments such as ‘‘You would have expected them to sort it out’’ and ‘‘If they don’t it could be in our favour’’ were tossed about at a private dinner several players attended on Friday night.About the only one to say anything outright was former Test captain Hashan Tillekeratne. He hoped the rumbling row would not disturb the series ‘‘as I know our fellows want to play an Indian side and beat them fairly without rifts in the camp.’’He added: ‘‘India are starting to look formidable. Now we have this. They had better patch it up or it will count against them.’’ So far Sri Lanka media have remarkably refrained from clambering aboard the machine churning out the usual anti-India diatribe you get in such circumstances.The newspapers have been inclined to play it down while private TV coverage comes from distorted video clips of Chappell’s Harare media briefing.Tryphon Mirando, secretary of SLC’s Interim Committee, offering a broad smile, declined to comment. ‘‘We have no statement to make on this issue. It is an internal matter, and it’s inappropriate for us to comment.’’ Coach Tom Moody, who was in the running for the Indian job but lost out to Chappell, and skipper Marvan Attapattu, declined to be interviewed on the issue.
