Greg Chappell is definately one of the most respected former cricketers from
Australia. But his coaching experience leaves a lot to be considered. I have serious doubts as to whether the BCCI did any serious background work on Chappell before hiring him; they probably went for him based on his stature in the cricket world.
In the past five months Chappell seems to have done more wrong than right for Indian cricket. Instead of keeping his differences with the captain to himself, his views have gone to the public, thus alienating himself from the entire team. Ample testimony for the fact that he has created negative vibes in the dressing room comes from the statements of Laxman and Harbhajan Singh. Who knows, if other players have the courage to speak out, there may be many more skeletons in the closet!
In spite of all that has happened, I don’t think Chappell will be shown the door, as he has signed a long term contract. Morover the board would not be doing its reputation any good by firing Chappell.
TIP OF THE ICEBERG??
All this may be just a small part of a much bigger problem ailing Indian cricket. The amount of politics that is a part of every desicion taken by the board- from team selections to TV rights- is overwhelming. I feel the biggest bugber in Indian cricket is poor governance. Hard and firm decisions have never been taken. The situation is unlikely to change until there is a change at the top. Take the case of Australia, they have a CEO (James Sutherland) running Cricket Australia. Most boards in other countries are replicating the Australian model. But the BCCI seems to be going backwards all the time.
Instead of debating on who is to go- Ganguly or Chappell, the board must take a hard look at themselves. The change must come from within. India calls itself a cricket crazy country, but how many people even know the names of their domestic/local team players? The BCCI should wake up from its slumber and start promoting cricket at the domestic level, instead of wasting time and resources on trivial matters. Cricket at the local level has to be glamourised, only then we will have kids looking at cricket as a viable career option.
Eventually, Chappell can always pack his bags and leave, Ganguly can always announce retirement, but cricket will lose out as a result of this fiasco. There have been numerous instances of the game’s image taking a beating, and this often happens when its players are made out to be bigger than the game itself. This is one episode cricket could have done without, considering that this is the game that is least likely to survive into the 22nd century.