Cricket-Buchanan book ignites row in India

NEW DELHI, July 10 (Reuters) - Former Australia coach John Buchanan has come under fire in India over comments about the country's players, while he maintains that excerpts from his new book that led to the criticism have been taken out of context.

Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh and former Australian all rounder Tom Moody were first to speak out after the media printed excerpts from "The Future of Cricket: The Rise of Twenty20" with many pages devoted to the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Buchanan ended a two-year spell with IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders after the team finished bottom of the standings in May, before signing up as a coach with the England board last month.

Indian media has focused on his comments on former skipper Saurav Ganguly, who plays for Knight Riders, Sunil Gavaskar, a member of the IPL board, Harbhajan and Yuvraj Singh.

Buchanan says the frenetic pace of Twenty20 is unsuited to senior players such as Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid as well as Australian skipper Ricky Ponting, all into their 30's, in excerpts published in The Indian Express on Friday.

Ganguly had a strained relationship with Australia. In 2001, he left rival skipper Steve Waugh fuming by turning up late for the toss before rallying the hosts for an upset test series win.

ANGRY MOODY

Yuvraj, who has taken over the batting slot vacated after Ganguly's international retirement, captains IPL's Kings XI Punjab.

"Yuvraj Singh in a sense tries to be a modern-day Ganguly, but I don't think he has the charisma or the dignity with which Ganguly carries himself," Buchanan writes.