MUMBAI, July 10: The chairman of the national selection committee, Ramakant Desai, today denied having said that there was a dispute during the selection of the Indian cricket team for the Asia Cup to be played in Sri Lanka.An agency report from Mumbai stated that Desai admitted that ``there was a dispute during the selection of the Indian cricket team for the Colombo Asia Cup, which pitted him and captain Sachin Tendulkar against the four other selectors.''The report also said that ``He (Desai) and Tendulkar wanted middle-order batsman Vinod Kambli and wicket-keeper Nayan Mongia in the team, but were helpless against the majority four''.Desai was reported to have ``agreed with the general reaction that dropping Mongia was unjust, and the decision called for a soul-searching on part of the committee''.However, the former fast bowler, when contacted by The Indian Express, said that he never discussed what went on during the meeting with any reporter. ``I was only asked about my reaction to (Sachin) Tendulkar's comment in a Calcutta daily about the team being B-grade. I never said what happened during the meeting,'' he said.``Even about Sachin's comments, I can only say something after talking to him when he returns from the ICC captains' meeting in London. What I said was that the Calcutta reporter talked to him on phone and must have had very little time. Either Sachin has been misunderstood or he has been misquoted.``Anyway, Sachin is too wise a cricketer to say such a thing about the team on the eve of such an important tournament,'' Desai added.When asked about Mongia, Desai admitted that he was the best wicket-keeper India has at the moment, ``but the demand of one-day cricket is different. However, both Mongia and Kambli can still make it to the team when we select the other two players for the Test series against Sri Lanka.''
