The tenure of Greg Chappell as the head coach of Team India is most often recalled on the disappointing outcome that the team had to endure in the 2007 ODI World Cup when the former champions were clearly out of the group stage, including the memorable upset against Bangladesh. Prior to that disastrous performance, Chappell was clashed with Sourav Ganguly who already lost the captaincy a few months after the appointment of the Australian.
Chappell stepped down after the debacle that was the 2007 ODI World Cup. He had taken over the position after the tenure of John Wright, a New Zealander, who had left the team in a dizzy of accomplishments.
Sandeep Patil, who was also a member of the 1983 World Cup-winning team, appreciated the fact that during the tenure of Wright, the coach was able to allow the captain do his work and did not mind operating from the background.
In his biography entitled Beyond Boundaries, drawn up by Sandeep Patil that was launched on Thursday, contains a positive description of Wright.
“Since 2000, India has had a number of foreign coaches and management. This has been very beneficial as their away record has improved over the years. It all began with John Wright who became the first overseas coach in India,” patent continues quoting in the book PTI.
“I think John was the ideal coach for India. He was quiet, well spoken, respectful, kept to himself, and did not mind staying in the background of sourav’s leadership. Apart from that, he was also able to avoid the media. He did it so effectively that he was almost never heard of – which was not the case in Greg Chappell’s times.
“First, when he began working with Chappell, there was no doubt he was newsmaker on a daily basis. It is of great significance for the coach to first know the stance of that board, the opinions of board members and the president of that board. He must also be able to relate well with the President and Secretary, the captain, the whole team in fact. John did that wonderfully,” recalls Patil.
Patil is of the view that Wright was not biased towards any of the players and ‘treated the Chappell and Kumble with respect’ however graciously let them do as they pleased.
“…during his stay, there was no such thing as ‘seniors and juniors’ business. It was one unit. All senior, to him, were captains one way or the other, Patil concluded. He gave them respect, and a free hand, which I feel Anil Kumble didn’t. Greg Chappell too.”
The straggler exclaims apparently while Chappell was the coach of India, his ‘Aggressive temperament’ and ‘forceful character’ were not appropriate for the Indian team dressing room as he had plans to revolutionize the entire cricket system of India.
“Greg is a very strong personality; very aggressive. The moment Jagmohan Dalmiya said you have a free hand, he thought, which is what he thought, change everything in one day. John didn’t, he waited and understood the system. Greg wanted to reform the whole system, the way of doing things and the very process of selection, Patil stated.
“Changes were brought into the evolution of the Indian side which was detrimental to Rahul Dravid’s captaincy after Ganguly’s exit. Irfan (Pathan) was to be promoted into the batting order. It does not matter whether it is Sachin Tendulkar, Dravid or Sehwag senior’s don’t change their positions”, wrote Patil.
Patil informs that a number of Indian players did not appreciate the then assistant coach Ian Fraser.
“Another factor that played its role in the controversies around Greg Chappell was Ian Fraser as Assistant Coach. Most players did not like his presence,” he wrote.
Patil said added that Chappell was in a hurry to bring in the Australian infl…
