Ian had doubts over Greg’s choice as Team India coach: Ganguly


Team Udayavani, Feb 27, 2018, 3:11 PM IST

New Delhi: Even brother Ian Chappell was not very positive about Greg Chappell taking over as Team India coach in 2005 and so was Sunil Gavaskar but Sourav Ganguly says he decided to ignore all these warnings and follow his instincts on the appointment.

In fact, Ganguly was in awe of Chappell prior to his appointment and even embarked on a secret trip to Australia in 2003 before the team was to tour that country for doing an exhaustive recce of the grounds and preparing himself and his teammates.

He got in touch with Chappell as he thought he “would be the best person” to help him in his mission.

“In our previous meetings he had impressed me with his deep cricketing knowledge,” Ganguly writes in his autobiography “A Century is not Enough”.

But little did Ganguly know then that this association was going to be one of the most controversial of that era.

On Greg’s appointment, the former Team India skipper says that when there was discussion in 2004 on who could succeed John Wright as the coach, Chappell’s name flashed in his mind first.

“I thought Greg Chappell would be the best person to take us to the number one slot from the challenger’s position. I had conveyed my personal choice to Mr (Jagmohan) Dalmiya when they were looking for a new Indian coach,” the book, co-authored by Gautam Bhattacharya and published by Juggernaut, says.

“A few people advised me against this move. Sunil Gavaskar was one of them. ‘Sourav, think about it. With him around you might have problems in running the team. His past coaching record is not spectacular, he told me,” writes Ganguly.

He says Dalmiya also called one morning and asked him to come to his house for an urgent discussion.

“He shared in confidence that even his brother Ian thought Greg might not be the right choice for India. Well, I decided to ignore all these warnings and follow my instincts,” Ganguly writes.

“The rest as they say is history. But then that’s life. Some scripts go your way, like my tour of Australia, and some don’t, like the Greg chapter. I conquered the country but not one of its citizens,” he says.

He says suddenly from ‘Maharaj’ he joined the ranks of the oppressed.

“This (the year 2005) remains the most turbulent chapter of my life.

Not only was my captaincy suddenly taken away for no reason but I was also dropped as a player. I feel angry even as I write this. What happened was unthinkable. Unacceptable. Unforgivable,” he writes.

“History hasn’t recorded many instances of a winning captain being dropped so unceremoniously, that too after scoring a hundred in the last Test series. In Indian cricket there are no such parallels and I doubt whether there will ever be. So Mr Gregory Stephen Chappell and the selection committee led by Kiran More have indeed put me in august company,” he rues.

Udayavani is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel and stay updated with the latest news.

Top News

10 month baby gets new heart, new life

Actress Kasthuri released from jail, says ‘I thank those who made me raging storm’

Kidnapped for ransom in 1998, 26/11 survivor Gautam Adani faces biggest trial

100 engineering colleges in Karnataka to be ‘adopted’ by corporates by next year: IT Minister Kharge

Siddaramaiah defends BPL ration card cancellation, says only ineligible beneficiaries affected

China announces new policy measures to protect its exports from Trump’s new tariff threat

Renovated Medical Oncology OPD and Chemotherapy Day Care Centre inaugurated at Kasturba Hospital, Manipal

Related Articles More

Mohammed Shami ridicules Sanjay Manjrekar over comments on reduced IPL value

There’s potential for disruption in India camp with Rohit coming back in Adelaide: Ponting

We are not carrying baggage from New Zealand series: Bumrah

Argentina football team, featuring Lionel Messi, to play in Kerala next year

Indian blind cricket team not to travel to Pakistan for T20 World Cup, govt denies permission

MUST WATCH

Christmas Cake Fruit Mixing

DK Shivakumar

Rose Cultivation

Geethotsava

Naxal Operation


Latest Additions

Investigation begins into Naxal Encounter; Where did the others escape?

Mumbai terror accused Rana approaches US Supreme Court to challenge extradition to India

Who will be next Maharashtra CM? Mahayuti, MVA constituents drop different names

Geethartha Chinthane 101: Understanding of universality eases grief

‘Bengaluru Chalo’ protest demand rejection of Kasturirangan Report

Thanks for visiting Udayavani

You seem to have an Ad Blocker on.
To continue reading, please turn it off or whitelist Udayavani.