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The relationship between former Kolkata Knight Riders coach John Buchanan and Sourav Ganguly was one of the talking points of the Indian Premier League. In his book, The Future of Cricket: The Rise of Twenty20 (191 pages, Rs 295), Buchanan talks about all the things they agreed to disagree on. On June 17, Buchanan's contract as KKR's director of cricket was terminated. An extract by arrangement with the publisher, Orient Paperbacks:

Our 2008 captain Sourav Ganguly, the Prince of Kolkata, or Dada as he is affectionately nicknamed, is a fascinating character, a man of contradictions. I am sure psychologists would find him intriguing. I found him a gentleman to work with yet I finished the tournament still feeling I didn't know him.

I went into the IPL with an open mind about Sourav, who had been an antagonist of Australian sides I coached. He is a lovely person but lives in his own world. He used to drive Stephen Waugh crazy by being late for the toss. That might have been partly strategic but also he was simply unaware of its importance. He would be in the rooms, in his own world, when he would be told it was time for the toss. He would not be ready, and would have to get changed before meeting his by-now irritated opposing captain.

Ganguly has always had the ability to mentally unsettle his opponents. It was not always by design, but Waugh saw it as a lack of respect and common courtesy. At times I feel Sourav is guilty of that, but on other occasions I believe he is simply in his own world and loses track of time. He gives off the impression that he feels everything will happen in good time, but it will be in his good time. He is not too concerned with other people's views about him...

Adored by the Kolkata faithful, he was installed as captain of the Knight Riders side because he was the icon player, a hometown hero and an ex-Indian captain. Yet crowning him captain, while logical on paper, was a decision that I was to grapple with throughout the tournament.

I told the squad from the outset that my philosophy is anyone in our team should be able to lead the side. I told the group that I wanted to establish 11 leaders on the field, so it did not matter all that much who had a 'C' for captain next to their name. I made the comment that everyone should be a leader on the field and therefore the captain was not so important. The press interpreted that as me saying I didn't want Sourav as captain. I think Sourav was wary or at least uncertain of my philosophy too. I explained my rationale and I think he understood what I was trying to achieve, although I am sure he too grappled with thoughts of the coach wanting to replace him.

Just before leaving for South Africa for the 2009 tournament, I had an almost four-hour meeting in Mumbai with Sourav, Shah Rukh and Jai Mehta. We subsequently released a statement stressing that there would be only one captain, who would be fed suggestions from a core group of on-field strategists. Some, like Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar, have been critical of the concept — and me — but Shah Rukh backed my desire for innovation. Only time and experience will tell if the idea will work in practice, but I think it can and will...

...It might seem strange, but this is why I question his suitability for and need to play T20. I am concerned that he will erode his brand, his stature by playing in the IPL. This is an ongoing conversation that we are having. Sourav has a three-year contract with the Knight Riders and of course believes he has the ability to play T20. But I have my doubts. One thing for sure, he is no longer an automatic selection for captain. I have made this point clear, much to the detriment of my popularity in India, but as coach I must always have the best interests of the team — not of any one individual, no matter how iconic — in mind.

I believe that for the likes of Ganguly, Tendulkar, Dravid and Ponting this T20 format has arrived too late in their careers. There is no doubt they can play this game, but I have my doubts they can play it at the pace the game demands. This fact is being demonstrated by their younger peers. Even Warne, Gilchrist and McGrath will struggle to keep up. It will be interesting to see how they go in the coming seasons...

...Ganguly was the model for the new breed of confident and combative Indian cricketers. Ganguly showed that Indian cricket could stand up for itself. He is similar in that way to Ian Chappell, who stood up for what he believed and was not afraid to take on the administration — but with Chappell you always got the sense he had thought his actions through, whereas with Ganguly it is not always by design, it's just the way he is.

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. That's not to say that Yuvraj does not have charisma or dignity but Ganguly has something extra about him, a presence, and whether you like him or not he commands respect...

Before the start of the tournament, I contacted Greg Chappell for advice on what to expect from Sourav. Greg, who I first met in Brisbane club cricket in the early 1970s, had gained an insight into Sourav and the inner sanctum of Indian cricket during his appointment as Indian coach (2005-07). Indeed Greg had taken the courageous decision to at one stage drop Ganguly from the Indian side.

"If you want the easy path, just get on-side with Sourav and tell him what he wants to hear and let him have his own way. If he is happy and in the team, you won't have any problems with him," said Greg.

But at the end of the tournament I told Sourav something he did not want to hear. "I really think your game was off the pace and the more you play T20, the more harm you will do yourself," I told him. "I felt I needed to say this to you before I left to go back to Australia — I wanted to be as honest as possible with you."

Sourav responded to my frank assessment by claiming he had at least one more year of 20-over cricket in him. He told me his main aim was to get into the Test side against Australia, an aim he did achieve before announcing his Test retirement. He basically said to me: "Thank you for your concerns, but I don't agree with what you are saying."