Sourav Ganguly came to Sri Lankan dressing room after his on-field spat with Russel Arnold: Kumar Sangakkara

The world witnessed a heated exchanged between Sourav Ganguly and Russel Arnold in the 2002 Champions Trophy final at Colombo. No cricket fanatic can forget the sight of an infuriated Ganguly getting into Arnold’s face for reminding him to not run on the pitch. Both the players exchanged a few words until the umpire intervened.

Former Sri Lanka skipper Kumar Sangakkara, who was keeping wicket in that particular encounter, recalled an interesting incident which took place after the match. Ganguly came to Sri Lankan dressing room and had a chat with the players to check whether everyone was on the same page regarding the Ganguly-Arnold argument.

“I remember one very specific incident in a one-day match where he was having this big argument with Russel Arnold. I think Dada was on his final warning and the umpire reported him,” Sangakkara said on the Cricket Connected Show on Star Sports.

“Dada came to our dressing room and had a chat to us that if this goes the whole distance, he was going to get suspended. And we told him not to worry and that we were not going to make a big deal about it and he was going to be okay,” added the Sri Lankan stalwart.

I did get to know Dada quite well over the years: Sangakkara

With Sangakkara serving as the president of the MCC, and Ganguly being the BCCI president, they share a good camaraderie off the field. Sangakkara revealed that he has known ‘Dada’ for many years and their relationship and bond has only got better with time.

“I did get to know Dada quite well over the years and I really enjoyed speaking to Dada on everything, whether it was about playing cricket or captaincy. I got to know Dada a lot more intimately,” Sangakkara said.

“Dada was a very practical man. He understood exactly what he could and how far he could push it on the field. But off the field, he is a fantastic guy. I have had a great time in conversations with him at various times over meals and he was a guy I really respected both on and off the field,” he added.