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.

Greg Chappell Drops Another Bombshell and Target is Sachin

He has been a figure of controversy; he has been one of the most hated figures in India. Yes, I am talking about none other than Greg Chappell. His first controversial act came in the one-day international series between Australia and New Zealand. He asked his brother Trevor Chappell to bowl underarm along the ground. Though Australia won the match but Trevor Chappell could never overcome this incident. Many touted this act as unsportsmanlike behaviour. But Greg simply laughed it off saying he intends just one thing, to win matches. 

Sachin Tendulkar & Greg Chappell

He helped the Indian team put up an impressive show against Australia in the 2002-03 series Down Under in the role of a batting consultant. It was no wonder that he became BCCI’s best choice when John Wright decided to step down from Indian coach’s role. In May 2005 he became the coach of the Indian national team with much backing from the then captain Sourav Ganguly. But once he gained the position he went after Sourav Ganguly himself. He started the blame game on this great captain. During the first overseas tour of India in Zimbabwe he asked Sourav to step down as captain. This led to vast media criticism. But soon Greg had his say and Sourav Ganguly was dropped from the Indian team and Rahul Dravid became the new captain. What followed was the start of a dismal Greg Chappell era in Indian cricket. He tried to usher in new blood to the Indian team in the form of Robin Uthappa, Venugopal Rao, R.P. Singh, etc. But none of them can be seen in the Indian team anymore. Many experts feel he is also the reason for Irfan Pathan’s demise from a promising seam bowler. Greg wanted to make him an all-rounder and in the process made Irfan lose his form with the ball. Then came 2007 World Cup where Team India had a miserable outing losing to the minnows Bangladesh. 

Rahul Dravid after India's Early Exit from World Cup 2007

All through his tenure as coach of India he was criticised by many players including Zaheer Khan, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh but they were dealt with harshly. Many cricket experts also suggested that Greg tried to run the team and always wanted the players to feel he was the headmaster. Thus players were largely unhappy with him. His obscene gestures at the Indian press made him a villain to the public eye. His sacking from the coach’s role brought a sigh of relief to the Indian cricketing world. 


But his tendency of dropping bombs and creating controversies hasn’t gone it seems! In his recent book ‘Fierce Focus’ he has claimed that Sachin Tendulkar was mentally fragile and self doubted his skills when he took over as coach. According to him one day during his coaching stint Sachin came to him and had discussions for nearly two hours. He was worried about his loss of form and recovery from tennis elbow injury. Greg also said Sachin asked for his help. In another portion of the book Greg writes "When the team travelled, he would snap on his headphones, not look sideways, and shut it all out. Not even Don Bradman carried expectations like this, and Sachin had been bearing it since 1989". Though I would never want to be on the same bout as Greg Chappell but this is a very valid point. Throughout the 90’s Sachin Tendulkar was seen as the sole person who could win India matches. His departure from the batting crease would often signal the end of Indian resistance. But when we talk about Greg era there were many great players to share the burden. Rahul Dravid was in full flow then, there was Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh too. So why would Sachin complain to Greg at such a time. 

His Controversial Conversation with Sourav Ganguly

Greg also writes on “once we were talking ... and I said, 'You must have so many friends, it must be hard finding time to keep in touch with all of them'. He looked me in the eye and said, 'Greg, you would have more friends in India than I've got.” This is again a contradictory statement to what we know of Sachin. He is a social guy and enjoys his off season with his close friends, family and relatives.