Sharma claims Chappell is vindictive

Greg Chappell has clearly rubbed Yashpal Sharma the wrong way © Getty Images

Yashpal Sharma, former India cricketer and deposed national selector, has criticized Greg Chappell for targeting players he did not like.

"Chappell wants [Sourav] Ganguly out while [Virender] Sehwag, Harbhajan [Singh] and Zaheer [Khan] are the other targets in his mind," said Sharma, who was ousted from the selection committee last week. "Chappell questioned my integrity and his behaviour shocked me. He also alleged that I was [Jagmohan] Dalmiya's man. I felt very bad because I have played with honour for my country and he has no right to question my credentials,"

Sharma, a member of the team that won the 1983 World Cup in England, had reportedly pushed for Ganguly's inclusion in the team for the ongoing Test series against Sri Lanka. Ganguly was earlier dropped from the one-day side due to poor form, an elbow injury and a damaging public spat with Chappell.

Sharma, Pranob Roy and Gopal Sharma were last week removed from the national selection panel after Sharad Pawar wrested control of the board. They were replaced by Bhupinder Singh, Ranjib Biswal and Sanjay Jagdale, none of whom have played Test cricket.

Sharma played 37 Tests for India during the 1970s and 1980s, scoring 1,606 runs with two centuries. He also figured in 42 one-dayers in which he aggregated 883 runs.