Sourav Ganguly Reveals VVS Laxman Did Not Speak to Him For 3 Months After Being Dropped For the 2003 ICC World Cup

A player being rested or dropped from the Indian cricket team can often be a sensitive issue, especially as the players themselves want to be playing as much as possible. But the worst thing for any player is to be dropped from the side for a major tournament. And that is exactly what happened with VVS Laxman ahead of the ICC World Cup 2003 under the captaincy of Sourav Ganguly. 

Now, Ganguly has revealed the extent to which this decision affected their relationship off the field. 

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Ganguly Reveals Laxman's Reaction

According to the former India captain, the decision left such a scar on Laxman that the two did not end up speaking for 3 months. 

"It has happened many times when we rested players. They were unhappy. Laxman being left out of the World Cup...he never spoke to me for three months. Then I made up with him. Anybody would get upset...for a World Cup. Especially a player of Laxman's calibre," Ganguly told PTI in an interaction.

However, Ganguly also added that Laxman was motivated enough after the World Cup to continue playing well for India when he was brought back into the side. 

"When we came back, he returned to the ODI system. He played an outstanding series in Pakistan and Australia. We won in Pakistan for the first time ever, and VVS was very instrumental. They knew at the back of their mind that it was never personal." 

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Why Did Ganguly Drop Laxman?

The main reason for Laxman's shock omission was that Ganguly wanted a lower order batter who could also contribute well in the field - which is why Dinesh Mongia won out in the end. 

Mongia did not have extremely impressive numbers at the time either, but the same was true for Laxman despite his impressive stature within the game at the time. 

Before the World Cup, Laxman's numbers were as follows - 1240 runs at an average of just 27.55 and a strike rate of only 67.02. There is a belief that if he was playing better, he would have been included regardless of who was the alternative.