Kolkata, Aug 15: Indian cricket skipper Sourav Ganguly took prior permission from BCCI before embarking on his recent week-long trip to Australia, where he took batting tips from former Aussie great Greg Chappel as part of preparations on fast tracks ahead of the tour down under later this year. "Yes, he took prior sanction of the board," BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya told a news agency here.

Ganguly left for Australia on August 6 and visited a cricket academy in Sydney a day later and spent two hours with Chappel.

The flashy left hand batsman, who has often drawn flak for his weakness in facing shot pitch stuff on fast tracks, reportedly shadow practised under the former Aussie skipper before trying out different shots in the nets. He also picked up suggestions on various aspects of cricket psychology from Chappel at a dinner meeting the same night.

Dalmiya, however, refused to answer a query on whether the board was planning to reimburse Ganguly for the expenses he incurred for the trip, saying it was an internal matter.

"I think this is nobody's business. Whether the board pays him or not is our internal matter," he said.

India would be leaving for Australia in November to play in four Tests before taking part in a tri-nation limited over series stretching upto February 10 with Zimbabwe as the third team. Bureau Report