3 Important aspects from Greg Chappell’s era that helped India in the longer run

Greg Chappell is easily the most reputed and talked coach in Indian cricket history but mostly on negative lines as India succumbed to a debacle at the CWC 2007 during his tenure. Prior to the ICC tournament itself, Chappell got a bad name of spoiling the dressing room atmosphere due to his techniques. Players who were in the team during his stint have had a lot of things to say about the former Australian cricketer even after completion of their careers.

The main reason for the wide criticism towards Chappell was his methods that didn’t go well with the Indian team’s culture. Chappell had a good eye in the developments of the sport and tried to take some bold decisions. His plans didn’t go well with the Indian team who are not used to such plans even till date. His treatment to star players was also questioned as he tried to overlook them due to their performances.

Indian team is known for respecting a player’s contribution and their experience even if they are not performing. However, Greg’s methods and the changes he implemented for himself didn’t work but helped India in a long run. For the next four years after his exit, India went on win the inaugural WT20, CB Series in Australia, overseas Tests series and even achieved the No.1 ranking in Tests.

Here we look at three important aspects during Greg Chappell’s stint that helped India later on:

3. Dropping Sourav Ganguly and other seniors:

One of the prime reasons which bagged a negative impression for Greg Chappell was his methods at giving the performing players an edge over the experienced ones. Chappell didn’t spare the likes of Zaheer Khan, Virender Sehwag and even the captain Sourav Ganguly during their bad patches.

During his period, the inconsistent senior players were made to toil in domestic cricket and the maximum chances were awarded to young players for the future who were performing at the same level. Most of the young players who were under his eye turned crucial during 2007-2011 where India scaled new heights.

At the same time, the seniors whom Chappell dropped got a chance to reconstruct their game and come back strong. Both Sehwag and Zaheer witnessed their prime years during 2009-2011. Ganguly, who was far from being a great player in the longer format as a batsman, played a crucial role in Indian wins with the bat on his return including his only Test double century.