Saturday, May 21, 2005

The Chappelldays have begun

Finally, after a month of deliberations, discussions and brainstorming, India's cricketing guru has been chosen to take over from where John Wright left - Gregory Stephen Chappell. Perhaps it was not a tough choice for the six-man Selection Committee, simply because his name had been echoed by Indian cricket's bigwigs ever since the Indians disembarked from their rather successful tour of Australia. The man who probably changed the tunes of the Aussie media by helping Saurav Ganguly play a knock that would in its own way decide the outcome of the series is now at the helm of India's cricketing affairs. An all time great in his own right, Chappell demonstrated the extent to which an individual could go to compete and more so win, with his rather infamous and controversial "underarm" advice and if anything this desire mixed with determination, discipline and dedication could only auger well for Indian cricket, which has been going through a trough as far as results are concerned.

Off the field, the individual is more known for his coaching acumen. Having a thorough knowledge of the game, Greg Chappell has written books titled "The Makings of Champions" and also has his own cricket coaching website Chappellway. Having coached South Australia to Sheffield Shield glory for the first two years since he was appointed, he realized where he belonged. Chappell, considered to be an acute thinker of the modern game, has finally reached out and more so given his full commitment to Indian cricket for the next two years.

How does Chappell benefit Indian Cricket ? Well for starters, his immense knowledge of the modern game will by itself be an advantage for the team. Secondly, with Chappell being a man of few but meaningful and sharp words, the tough decisions might well be on their way. Thirdly, the visionary that the man himself is, it would only be an inspiration to the entire dressing room to share it with such a great man. Unlike the other contenders, who were only bothered about the 2007 World Cup, Chappell brought out in his own way an insight into the future of Indian cricket dwelling on the long term goals rather than the short and immediate ones. A typical management jargon comes to mind here where the mantra is to "use the short term goals to achieve the long term ones" and if that is what is Chappellway, I feel Indian cricket is in perhaps the safest hands ever.

So come 15th June, India will formally have their new coach and with all that one can read between the lips, Indian cricket is headed for one of its golden era with Greg Chappell's reign. He has his work cut out, but from the early signs we are getting, the man knows what he is doing. His immediate task will be to unite this team, as it comes together after 3 months, which will invariably mean considerable rust which each player might be carrying and make sure that everyone is in both full fitness and good cricketing form before departing for Sri Lanka.

A word of praise for the BCCI (something rare these days) for making a quick and well thought after decision of Chappell's appointment as the national coach. The BCCI must also be lauded for its efforts in getting a high profile candidate for virtually the same price they paid for Wright and also the fact that they are considering to give him with powers that no Indian coach ever got.

At the end of the day, alls well that ends well and one certainly hopes that time evaluates Shri Gregory Stephen Chappellji by both his worth and his deliverance. After all its the transition for the good Indian cricket is making from a Naive New Zealander to a more Aggressive Australian.

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