Chappell Continues the Feud

The ghost of Greg Chappell does not seem to shun Indian cricket. Greg Chappell in his latest book “Fierce Focus” has dropped many bombs at the Indian team during his tenure as Indian national coach. If last week it was Sachin Tendulkar this week the focus has shifted to his so called enemy Sourav Ganguly. Greg-Sourav has been a funny saga, with Greg Chappell bombarding the ex Indian skipper with one allegation after the other and Sourav Ganguly like gentlemen keeping his numb. Sourav has always focused on performances to speak on his behalf. Even when he has not found a place in the national team he had always come back by the weight of performances.

Two Ends of the Pole: Greg Chappell & Sourav Ganguly

Greg Chappell was looked upon as ‘Guru Greg’ by Indian cricket lovers when he helped the Indian team put up a competitive performance in Australia in 2002-03 season. His advices helped all the Indian batsmen counter the bounce and speed of Australian pitches. When John Wright left vacant the position of Indian coach Sourav Ganguly was the first to back Greg Chappell. But after becoming the coach Greg started to bring about many changes which faced resistance from Sourav. He was the Dada in the team and team members relied on his judgements thus Greg was not in a commanding position until Sourav was at the helm or even in the team. He shamelessly asked Sourav Ganguly to step down as the captain during the side’s tour of Zimbabwe. This started their estranged relationship which seems to be still lingering in the mind of Greg Chappell.

Sourav Ganguly Carried off the Field by Teammates

In his book “Fierce Focus” Greg Chappell has blamed Sourav of being a panicker and acting injuries in crucial matches which he knew India would lose. As far as our general understanding of the game, Sourav’s leadership in adversity came to the fore in World Cup 2003. When India looked down and out he infused the sense of confidence in the team by often performing himself. Even during the Natwest Series win in England we saw him encouraging his teammates from the Lord’s balcony. There are many other instances that will refute Greg’s opinion. As far as his injuries are concerned Sourav had been plagued by injuries ever since the inception of his career. He had to sit out many matches even before Greg knew his name. But that is purely due to the physical condition and not because he got scared of the situations.

Sourav Ganguly Ecstatic After Natwest Series Win

His second allegation against the ex Indian skipper is that he was a feared person within the team. Juniors were afraid of voicing their problems or opinions to him. He often blew away the good suggestions of the juniors. Only the seniors had a say under his captaincy. Greg also commented that Sourav used to taunt or insult the newcomers. As far as fear is concerned, when Sourav was dropped from the team many juniors (back then) such as Harbhajan Singh, Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh had voiced their protests. They had said emotionally that they felt Sourav was the best captain and player. So if they feared him then they also loved him. On the otherhand as far as seen on the television screen it was Sourav who infused Team India spirit into the Indian side where senior and juniors both were included. Again this point of view of Greg can be refuted.

Performances Speak for Him

Greg has also blamed Sourav of using his political connections to get into the Indian team during the South Africa tour. According to him Sourav created pressure on the selectors to get him back into the team and they obliged. Dilip Vengasarkar, chairman of selectors then has claimed that these allegation is baseless and the selection was made on his performances rather than any type of political pressure.

Sourav Ganguly An Ace Leader

He has also written that there was a wide gap between the seniors and juniors when he came in as Indian coach. He conducted three team meetings one with the seniors, then the middle aged players and the third with the younger players. He has said that the juniors could not put up their opinions in front of the seniors thus he had to take recourse to such steps. I have only one thing to say, all your coaching flair couldn’t even earn us a place in Super Six of World Cup 2007! So it would be better not to dig the graves of the past.  Dilip Vengasarkar has rightly pointed on his allegations that these are publicity stunts to sell his book and note of his writings should not be taken.