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Greg Chappell’s reign as India head coach was marred by breakdown of relationship with Sourav Ganguly and it led to a controversial exit.
(From left) Greg Chappell, John Wright and Anil Kumble (Agencies)
Greg Chappell’s era as India head coach will be remembered for the team’s shocking performance at the 2007 ODI World Cup that saw the former champions being eliminated in the group-stage itself that included an embarrassing defeat to Bangladesh. In the lead up to that horrible show, Chappell had a breakdown of relationship with Sourav Ganguly who was removed as the team captain months after the Australian’s appointment.
Chappell resigned following the 2007 ODI World Cup. He had succeeded former New Zealand cricketer John Wright into the role whose tenure saw the team achieve several historic firsts.
Member of India’s 1983 ODI World Cup winning team Sandeep Patil feels that the reason why the team tasted success under Wright was because as coach, he gave the senior a free hand and was happy to live under the shadow of the then captain Ganguly.
He called Wright as an “ideal India coach” in his autobiography Beyond Boundaries that was launched on Thursday.
“Since 2000, India have had an array of international coaches and support staff. This has paid rich dividends, because India’s overseas record has improved steadily. It all started with John Wright becoming India’s first foreign coach,” news agency PTI quoted Patil as writing in the book.
“I think John was the ideal coach for India. He was soft spoken, polite, well-mannered, always kept to himself, and was happy to be in Sourav Ganguly’s shadow. In addition to all that, he kept a distance from the Press. He managed that so well, that he was hardly in the news — unlike what happened in the Greg Chappell years.
“With Chappell, he was in the news every day. It is very important for a coach to first understand the policy of that particular board, the thinking of the board members, and the President. He should have a good rapport with the President and the Secretary, and of course the captain and the team. John did that wonderfully,” Patil adds.
Patil says Wright didn’t treat players differently and claimed he gave “respect” and a “free hand” to the seniors which the likes of Anil Kumble and Chappell didn’t.
“…during his tenure, there was no ‘seniors’ and juniors’ business. It was one team. He believed all seniors were leaders in some way, He gave them respect, and a free hand, which l feel Anil Kumble didn’t do. Greg Chappell too,” he wrote.
The former India coach also claims Chappell’s “strong personality” and “aggressive nature” wasn’t fit for the Indian dressing room atmosphere and he wanted to change the entire Indian cricket system.
“Greg is a very strong personality; very aggressive. The moment Jagmohan Dalmiya said you have a free hand, he thought that he can change everything overnight. John waited, and learnt the system. Greg wanted to change the entire system, the entire thinking, and the selection process,” Patil said.
“He introduced flexibility in the Indian team, and he spoiled things for Rahul Dravid, who took over from Ganguly as captain. Irfan (Pathan) was asked to move up the order. Seniors don’t like to change numbers, whether it is Sachin Tendulkar, Dravid, or Virender Sehwag,” Patil wrote.
Patil says a lot of Indian players didn’t like the then assistant coach Ian Fraser.
“The other issue in the Greg Chappell saga was the presence of Ian Fraser as Assistant Coach. Most players didn’t like his presence,” he wrote.
Patil said added that Chappell was in a hurry to introduce the Australian culture in the Indian system.
“Greg wanted to introduce the Australian culture, the Australian way of playing cricket, and the Australian way of thinking. He could’ve done it, but he didn’t bide his time. That’s where I think the rift started, and he was against a few seniors who were not toeing the line.
“Sourav is not a guy who will get up and start running and doing stretches. You need to give him time. I think Greg rubbed seniors the wrong way, though a few seniors didn’t speak openly about him – some like Kumble still haven’t. It’s the same with Dravid. Ironically, Ganguly got him in, but was instrumental in his exit,” he wrote.
