By Anil
May 2 2005

Greg Chappell seems to be at the forefront in the race amongst the potential candidates currently being considered by the BCCI for coach of the Indian cricket team. Bizarrely, but perhaps typically for the BCCI, Chappell has not yet been contacted in any form by the BCCI, although they have announced that he along with Dav Whatmore, Steve Waugh, Tom Moody and Dean Jones are being considered for coach.

For any other administrative body, let alone the richest one in cricket, it would have been embarassing when Waugh reacted to these reports by "brushing aside" any talk of him taking up the position. This clearly meant that the BCCI has yet to actually contact anyone (other than the media) for position of coach. Sounding out potential candidates in the newspapers instead of directly talking to them smacks of stupidity and laziness, but then the BCCI already has a well-deserved reputation in those areas.

However, they have stated they will hire only a foreigner into that position. Does this mean that there is no Indian with the maturity, stature and experience to do the job? It is not enough to say that in the past, no Indian coach has done a good job. We need to have a public debate on the reasons why only a foreigner will do, so that we can rectify the problem for the future.

Chappell was considered once before by the BCCI -- in 2000 -- but John Wright was selected. But that past rejection doesn't seem to be holding back this savvy self-marketer from pushing himself for the job.

Last time around, he was reportedly rejected because he was asking for too much money. This time, the demands have not decreased. John Wright was rumored to be making around USD $250K whereas Chappell is somewhere between USD $400-500K. That is more than twice what the BCCI pays Sachin Tendulkar, Indian cricket icon who is still considered the MVP of the current team.

That is big money for a position whose value is questionable in cricket. On-field, it is the captain who is responsible for all decisions. When the team loses, the coach rarely attracts as much blame as the captain. Now that India's support staff -- physio, trainer, etc -- is well-established, how much improvement can Chappell bring?

Chappell has, in the recent past, been considered for coaching positions with South Africa, Pakistan, West Indies and Sri Lanka. For the BCCI, it would be worth digging into why none of those have panned out.

Greg Chappell's resume is faultless at first glance. He is well-spoken, shrewd, tactful, and has written a well-regarded book on coaching, Greg Chappell on Coaching: The Making of Champions. There is little doubt that he has considerable insight and and tactical awareness into the game from a lifetime spent in trying to understand cricket's complexities, as he says on his website chappellway.com.

Indian fans will also remember the occasion when Sourav Ganguly, the Indian captain, approached Chappell for advice at the start of the tour in Australia. To Chappell's delight Ganguly then hit a brilliant 144 in the first Test, setting the tone for an outstanding series by India which they drew but, according to most, may well have won if not for umpiring that gave every marginal decision, and some not-so-marginal ones, in Australia's favor. Ganguly is known to support Chappell for the coaching position.

Chappell's belief is that the coach, at the international level, is not so much someone who can teach cricket to cricketers, but is more of a man manager who can help players with technical, mental and personal problems. He must help cricketers develop "as people" as much as cricketers.

He also believes that the entire infrastructure and cricketing system at every level in a country needs to be tuned to produce good performances.

While this sounds good, it would be worth finding why Chappell's 5-year reign as coach of Southern Australia failed to turn up any international cricketers for Australia.

Will Chappell be supportive of the Indian team when they attract unwanted attention from ICC's notoriously hawkish (if inconsistently so) referees and umpires?

Here is what Chappell said when Lehmann received a well-deserved 5-ODI ban for his well-publicized shocking remarks about Sri Lankan players after being dismissed in an ODI: "He (Lehmann) is the quintessential Australian and the quintessential Australian cricketer; he plays it hard but fair and for him to be made an example of like this is sad."

Recently, Ponting's graphite-backed bat has been questioned by MCC, but here again Chappell was brusque with these "guardians of the game": "I find it hard believe it would help. I think the Poms should check Ricky's wrists, I reckon they must be illegal. I think you would have to go into his genetic background to find where he is getting his advantage. I don't think it will be from the bat."

These are strong words, yet if he can be counted upon to speak up for the Indians in the same way -- as outgoing coach John Wright was noticeably unable or unwilling to do -- then that would be a positive. Bob Woolmer, as Pakistan coach, has been outspoken about umpiring bias in favor of Australia during his team's recent tour there. Yes, it does count and is important.

He is infamous for his involvement in the underarm bowling incident in the New Zealand–Australia ODI in 1981, when he ordered brother Trevor to send down the last ball with an underarm action to prevent the Kiwis from winning the match, widely considered a blot to the game.

Chappell is a typically aggressive Aussie, and in that sense would be helpful to the Indian team which in the past has been considered a "soft touch" by opposition (although under Ganguly and some of the new guns like Harbhajan, Sehwag, Zaheer, and Pathan, that reputation has been rapidly changing).

Greg Chappell is almost 57, and it should be easier for him to take up coaching duties with its rigorous travel than the younger Wright. He also happens to be a pure vegetarian (vegan) who loves Indian food, and is into yoga and meditation. He has even written another book on that topic, Health and Fitness, which deals with diets and lifestyles. All of this should make him a good fit for staying long periods in India or travelling with the Indian team.

Of all the candidates, Chappell does appear to be a step ahead. His extensive background as a top-notch international cricketer of the past, as well as coach well-versed with the modern game, on paper make him well capable of taking India to the next level.

BCCI would be well-advised to pick up the phone and give the man a call, and firmly start negotiating performance-based salaries and terms, rather than make inane and conflicting statements to the media. The Indian team with its talent, Indian fans with their enthusiasm, and Indian companies with the huge amount of money they pour into the game, deserve to see the standard of our game being raised. Chappell, with his well-publicized desire to tune the entire system instead of only the team, may be just what the doctor ordered.