Sunil Gavaskar, former India cricket captain, has blamed former India coach Greg Chappell for the team’s downfall and questioned the logic of the board offering him the post of consultant of the National Cricket Academy.avaskar’s comments come as the 2007 Cricket World Cup moves in to the semi-final stage, a point in the competition that many Indians feel their team should easily have reached instead of being ousted from the group stage.
“It’s never easy sacking somebody, however incapable and inefficient he/she may be,” Gavaskar said in his syndicated column on Sunday.
“But to give another job and that too one which deals with the future of Indian cricket after the mess the present of Indian cricket has been landed into, makes one wonder if we will ever get out of the inferior complex syndrome,” he added.
India were sensationally eliminated from the first round of the World Cup after losing to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, with former Australia captain Chappell resigning in the wake of the debacle, just weeks before the end of his two-year contract.
“When Greg Chappell took over as coach of the Indian team, Indian cricket was poised to take the big step forward,” said Gavaskar.
"There was optimism all around and a palpable confidence that Indian cricket would be ready to challenge Australia for the title of the best team in the world.
“Instead, at the end of his tenure, Indian cricket is down in the dumps with a first-round exit in the World Cup, and is fractured and divided as seldom before,” added the man nicknamed ‘Sunny’.
Low rankings
India are currently placed sixth in the International Cricket Council (ICC) one-day rankings and fourth in the test rankings.
“Some of the most promising talent, as recognised by the ICC Cricket voting panel, has lost its way and nobody of any note has come through during this period,” Gavaskar continued.
"The batting, which should have flourished under the guidance of someone recognised as one of the game’s best batsmen, has looked tentative and unsure and has lost the spark that made India’s cricket team such a must-see for cricket lovers.
“Despite all this and him saying in a press interview that BCCI (the Board of Control for Cricket in India), is run like Zimbabwe, the BCCI is reportedly offering him a place as a consultant to the National Cricket Academy.”
The best thing
Meanwhile, media in Australia have reported that Chappell is a leading candidate to fill the head coaching role at the Australian Cricket Academy vacated by new national coach Tim Nielsen.
"If true, then it could be the best thing that has happened for world cricket.
“Now even Ireland has a chance beating Australia sooner rather than later,” Gavaskar quipped.
Gavaskar should just shut up. Gavaskar was against Chappel's appointment since the start ...its no wonder that he blames Chappel for India's ills now.
Chappel as a Coach was a policeman without any real authoirity. The guy tried to bring ruthless Aussie-type discipline into a Desi setup...obviously he could go only so far.
Chappel or no Chappel....Indian team cannot progress one inch if we can't see beyond our Sehwags/Tendus/Gangus. This idolatry by the Board and the general public must STOP.
And yes...Gavaskar (like many ex-players) need to shut the fcuk up.
So what is the general opinion among Indian team followers about Greg Chappell, to an outside observer it seems, he was too hard line and could not cope with the local flavor of cricket.
Was there good that came from his stint?
^ *Dekho bhai...*the truth of the matter is (though most Indians would most likely not admit it)...that most Indian players are vastly mediocre by International Standards......players like Dhoni, Harbhajan, Sehwag, Pathan, Zaheer, Munaf, Uthappa, Agarkar, Gambhir etc...would have to struggle very hard to get an entry into any of the other top International teams.
In India though...once you have a little bit of talent, the public and media following is so immense that within no time you become a "STAR".
Now consider other International players like Sangakarra, Hayden, Hussey, Vettori, Styris. Fleming, Jayawardene, Gibbs, Kallis etc...these guys silently deliver day in and day out ...without getting half as much press or recognition as India's so-called "STARS" get.
I guess what I am trying to say is that at the end of the day, India remains a very ordinary team which has been "hyped up" by the media and the immense public following. So I consider the team's failure to be because of lack of talent and not because of coaching inefficiency.
No matter how great the Coach may be, he cannot make Cheetahs out of Langoors overnight.
WHy are Indians like this, I mean this guy is not somebody who sits in galli and is discussing cricket while sharing a smaoke with rest of people from mohallah, this guy is a legend, the greatest asian batsman to play this game, the person who faced the best of bowlers in world, the person whose technique is world praised.
How come he thinks that team India was good enough to be #1???
I have never seen Team india good enough tobe anyway near to be #1 spot, and i am sure gavaskar knows cricket better than i do…i can get carried away by seeing one or two good performances and can declare that my team is good enough to be # 1, but Mr Gavaskar should nt be like this, he should know things better, he should know that for a teamto be # 1, its gootta perform on more than one or two serieses…and every time Mr Gavaskar or Mr Shastri open their mouth with such claims…it just surprises me (as a person of average cricket knowledge).
On the other hand i realize that this mentality of a great cricketer reflects on how the whole nation thinks about cricket, how one or two performces can make people feel like that they can be # 1 and this makes them day-dream about it…and this one of the reasons i think that Team India has performed the way they have performed against Pak since for ever.
^ *Dekho bhai...*the truth of the matter is (though most Indians would most likely not admit it)...that most Indian players are vastly mediocre by International Standards......players like Dhoni, Harbhajan, Sehwag, Pathan, Zaheer, Munaf, Uthappa, Agarkar, Gambhir etc...would have to struggle very hard to get an entry into any of the other top International teams.
In India though...once you have a little bit of talent, the public and media following is so great that within no time you become a "STAR".
Now consider other International players like Sangakarra, Hayden, Hussey, Vettori, Styris. Fleming, Jayawardene, Gibbs, Kallis etc...these guys silently deliver day in and day out ...without getting half as much press or recognition as India's so-called "STARS" get.
I guess what I am trying to say is that at the end of the day, India remains a very ordinary team which has been "hyped up" by the media and the immense public following. So I consider the team's failure to be because of lack of talent and not because of coaching inefficiency.
No matter how great the Coach may be, he cannot make Cheetahs out of Langoors overnight.
The point, my dear some1, is that with ur so called mediocore players Indian team was still doing relatively well compared to Chappell era.
WHy are Indians like this, I mean this guy is not somebody who sits in galli and is discussing cricket while sharing a smaoke with rest of people from mohallah, this guy is a legend, the greatest asian batsman to play this game, the person who faced the best of bowlers in world, the person whose technique is world praised.
How come he thinks that team India was good enough to be #1???
I have never seen Team india good enough tobe anyway near to be #1 spot, and i am sure gavaskar knows cricket better than i do...i can get carried away by seeing one or two good performances and can declare that my team is good enough to be # 1, but Mr Gavaskar should nt be like this, he should know things better, he should know that for a teamto be # 1, its gootta perform on more than one or two serieses.....and every time Mr Gavaskar or Mr Shastri open their mouth with such claims....it just surprises me (as a person of average cricket knowledge).
On the other hand i realize that this mentality of a great cricketer reflects on how the whole nation thinks about cricket, how one or two performces can make people feel like that they can be # 1 and this makes them day-dream about it....and this one of the reasons i think that Team India has performed the way they have performed against Pak since for ever.
anybody with any other view, please enlighten me!
i think you jumped on the gun there
i believe he is saying Indian cricket was looking a step forward after appointment of Greg Chappel and be able to challenge Australia, which pretty much every team looks at so i dont think he is saying anything out of the ordinary.
"WHy are Indians like this"
I hope you get major props on the forum for saying that :)
Now consider other International players like Sangakarra, Hayden, Hussey, Vettori, Styris. Fleming, Jayawardene, Gibbs, Kallis etc...these guys silently deliver day in and day out ...without getting half as much press or recognition as India's so-called "STARS" get.
are yar why so bitter?
these "STARS" dont ask to be stars
and half the problems with indian cricketers come with the pressure created by media
sangakarra did an interview recently after ind vs sl group stage match and said he felt sorry for indian cricketers because of the pressure on them
anyways thats what comes with being an indian cricketer and they know that
We desis should look at Lara. The guy can still deliver...yet he chose to call it a day on his own terms
So true
I guess what I am trying to say is that at the end of the day, India remains a very ordinary team which has been "hyped up" by the media and the immense public following
I am so glad YOU said that.
Tendu is not gonna retire soon - period, oh let me just calculate bhai kidhar gaya mera calculator, 11953-10688=1265, so he needs another 1266 runs to go past Lara's aggregate which (given his recent form) means he's going to stick around for another 2 years atleast :p
The point, my dear some1, is that with ur so called mediocore players Indian team was still doing relatively well compared to Chappell era.
True.
But my friend, I am talking about the Indian team right now....not the Indian team of that 1-2 years time period where the middle order (Dravid, Tendu, Laxman, Gangu) was solid and most importantly DELIVERING.
Now if you tell me that it was JOHN WRIGHT who was the reason for this, you will get a resounding NO from me....The slump of India's so-called stars had started well before Chappel took over...
The only reason why Wright did not court as much controversy as Chappel was because he maintained a low profile and a hands-off attitude towards desi politics. Decisive people who bring about change (like Chappel) are more likely to be unpopular. And as far as my concerned, Wright was just lucky to have presided over the Indian team at the right time.
Brazilians are insanely crazy about Soccer(just like Indians about Cricket), but at least the talent of their national Soccer team does justice to the following they get.
The talent of most individual Indian players, however, simply does not hold up to the coverage, limelight and the hype they get from the Indian public and media.
Brazilians are insanely crazy about Soccer(just like Indians about Cricket), but at least the talent of their national Soccer team does justice to the following they get.
The talent of most individual Indian players, however, simply does not hold up to the coverage, limelight and the hype they get from the Indian public and media.
Brazilians are insanely crazy about Soccer(just like Indians about Cricket), but at least the talent of their national Soccer team does justice to the following they get.
The talent of most individual Indian players, however, simply does not hold up to the coverage, limelight and the hype they get from the Indian public and media.
True.
But my friend, I am talking about the Indian team right now....not the Indian team of that 1-2 years time period where the middle order (Dravid, Tendu, Laxman, Gangu) was solid and most importantly DELIVERING.
Now if you tell me that it was JOHN WRIGHT who was the reason for this, you will get a resounding NO from me....The slump of India's so-called stars had started well before Chappel took over...
The only reason why Wright did not court as much controversy as Chappel was because he maintained a low profile and a hands-off attitude towards desi politics. Decisive people who bring about change (like Chappel) are more likely to be unpopular. And as far as my concerned, Wright was just lucky to have presided over the Indian team at the right time.
u killed my argument by saying that John wright does not matter as India was winning anyway. But still, the dravids, tendu, and gangu are still in the team, why suddenly they became so mediocre. I think even in the wright era, the matches were mostly won by the younger blood. There was raina, yuvraj, kaif. We had a better fielding unit, coupled with sehwags blast in the opening wicket Indian could chase down or put an effective target. We were better as a fielding unit. But all that changed with the arrival of Chappel.
Jokes aside, I think Some1 belongs to the group of Asians who are really sincere to their cause. A dying breed.
If he was from Pakistan he could join Imran Khan Tehreek-e-Insaaf…
However,what I do agree with is the extra attention our players both from Pakistan and India get (probably a lot more in India) which I believe creates the huge pressure and fear of losing. This in turn weakens their mental focus and lessens the fun they should have while playing.
So in essence, its not the coach, its really our cricket.
And on the coaching front, talking about that in isolation, I wouldn’t rank Greg as top notch either.
I understand that I come across as very bitter, skeptical and cynical in my posts....but I would advise my fellow countrymen to take a step back and analyze individual Indian players (ignoring their star trappings). Besides Dravid , Tendulkar/Ganguly (of yesteryears) and maybe Yuvraj, there is no other player who is any great shakes by international standards. We do not have one single bowler who can walk into any other top teams on his own.
In these circumstances, can a Coach (no matter how great) be reasonably expected to magically produce a world-beating side.
Simply put - most Indian cricketers are like Paris Hilton who get too much coverage and most of it has nothing to do with their real talent.
Sachin just wants to continue making money off of endoresements. He knows sponsors like the ODI format since it is more followed in India. Sachin would love to retire from Test cricket and continue playing ODI...but wait a minute, it wouldn't sound right, right? hahahaha..Some1 brought up an excellent point about Lara retiring even knowing he can still deliver laikin yay bhooka nanga Sachin will milk the cow as long as the Indian fans can bear his shakkal.
u killed my argument by saying that John wright does not matter as India was winning anyway. But still, the dravids, tendu, and gangu are still in the team, why suddenly they became so mediocre. I think even in the wright era, the matches were mostly won by the younger blood. There was raina, yuvraj, kaif. We had a better fielding unit, coupled with sehwags blast in the opening wicket Indian could chase down or put an effective target. We were better as a fielding unit. But all that changed with the arrival of Chappel.
Well...most teams go through phases.....the peiod you are referring to was when all of the Indian middle-order batsmen were "in form" and "clicking". It is well known that batsmen often go in cycles of being "in form" and "out of form". It just so happened that by the time Chappel took over - the best period of Tendu/Gangu/Laxman was behind them.
As for fielding - well, it is simple -- we dont have Kaif and Raina anymore in the side...so the quality of Indian fielding has come a few notches down. Bring them back and you would see it go up again.....this has nothing to do with Wright or Chappel.
Ohh great...I thought a coach like Greg Chappel was paid a huge salary to motivate and bring out best from our senior players like Sachin/Saurav and Laxman.
Now only I understood this logic- when Chappel took over they were in slump of form...hence useless....yeah...Gora coaches are always flawless...it's only these players who have Centuries in double figures suddenly gone ashtray, first Ganguly, then Sachin....waaah Chappel.
I heard, Chappel was not even in talking terms with Sachin and Ganguly during WC....damn these Indian players...it's all their fault they should have taken initiative and taught a Gora coach how to be in good terms with players......BCCI should apologise to Chappel for this and offer him lifetime pension for his services.
