His senior Basudeb Acharia, the party’s leader in the Lok Sabha, was more direct in fixing responsibility: “Regarding the dismal performance of the Indian team in Durban, the man responsible was the coach.”

Much of the CPM’s media briefing today was devoted to the Chappell issue and the performance of the Indian cricket team. The recent blasts in the North-East and the plans for a non-BJP delegation to visit the camps of riot-affected people in Gujarat were dismissed briefly.

The Members of Parliament were clearly ruffled that Chappell had made what they thought were uncalled for comments against MPs, but was in their opinion a poor sport himself because he could not handle criticism.

“When there is desperation all around and he is unsuccessful, we will raise these issues as representatives of the people,” Salim said, responding to criticism that MPs were talking about cricket even though they did not understand the game.