Was honoured to have coached Team India, says Greg Chappell

Former Australian cricketer Greg Chappell revealed that he was honoured to coach team India in an interview with ESPN Cricinfo. One of the most influential batsmen of the 1970’s, Chappell scored a century on his debut and also in his last Test with 22 tons in between.

His illustrious career had its share of controversial incidents and he was a part of the World Series Cricket (WSC) introduced by ‘Channel 9’ owner ‘Kerry Packer’. He was a part-time medium-pace bowler who once held the record of most catches taken by a player in Tests.

In 2005, he was appointed as the head coach of Indian national cricket team, though he enjoyed initial success, he was sacked by the officials due to poor performance and the infamous off-field event surrounding him and former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly.

He mentioned that he was honoured to have been part of Indian cricket during his chat. "I would have loved to have coached an Australian team if that had been available. But failing that, to get a chance to coach India was a great honour" he was quoted .

Having scored 24 centuries in 87 Tests at an average of 53.86, Chappell was one of the best batsmen his country ever produced. Chappell spoke about the popularity of the cricket team and said, “Being with the Indian cricket team was what it must have been like travelling with the Beatles.”

Greg Chappell was also the captain of the Australian cricket team for 48 Test matches, with a record of 21 wins, 13 losses and 14 draws. He recalled the 1975 World Cup Final and the Centenary Test in 1977 as the best atmosphere in which he played in and also made a special mention to his first tour of the West Indies’ in 1973. On being asked about the most difficult fast attack he played against, he quickly pointed out the West Indies bowling attack of the late 1970’s and early 1980’s.

In 1981, he was in the headlines for the wrong reasons, having persuaded his brother Trevor Chappell to bowl an underarm delivery and ensure that they win the match. New Zealand needed 6 runs from the last ball of the innings, but obeying instructions of his elder brother, Trevor became a part one of the most controversial incidents in the history of Cricket.

Later on Rob Muldoon, the New Zealand Prime Minister back then said, referring to the incident said, "the most disgusting incident I can recall in the history of cricket".

The Indian Cricket team was on the hunt of a good mentor in the post Ganguly-Wright era, which was one of the most successful spells in Indian Cricket. After much thought over the coach selection, Greg Chappell was appointed for the role and India’s tour of Zimbabwe was his first overseas assignment.

Skipper Sourav Ganguly scored a century in the first Test match and later admitted that he was asked by Chappell to step down as the captain of the team. This statement created an excessive and amplified turmoil in the cricket fraternity and the ‘Prince of Kolkata’ was eventually dropped from the team.

During India’s ODI match against South Africa at the Eden Gardens, he got involved in a shameful act, as he was spotted pointing fingers at the crowd present in Kolkata. He was eventually dropped as the coach after their poor run at the 2007 Cricket World Cup.

His controversies are largely overshadowed by his excellent career, and when asked about the best innings he played, Chappell said,” The Lord's Test in 1972, just because of the conditions and the situation of the game [Chappell scored 131 out of 308 to give Australia a narrow first-innings lead]. Technically and mentally it was as good as I'd played. The conditions were very much in favour of the bowlers.”

Chappell played his last Test innings at the Sydney Cricket Ground against Pakistan in 1984 where he scored 182 runs and guided the ‘Baggy Greens’ to a 10-wicket victory.