Chappell Era: New Dawn Or False Dawn?

By Gaurang
July 14 2005

The Greg Chappell Era is about to dawn in Indian cricket, and already there is heated debate whether it is a new dawn or a false dawn.

Before a ball has been bowled in competitive cricket under him the battle lines have been drawn. Sections of media have been highly critical and so negative, that the normally phlegmatic Chappell has lambasted their negativity. If perchance the team takes a bit of time to adjust to their new coach, and loses a few early games, the long knives will be out in a flash. Chappell should be prepared for this.

However, Chappell has come in with a much stronger hand than his predecessor John Wright. Wright came in with a team in disarray, haunted by the spectre of match-fixing and the resignation from Captaincy in disgust, by its most iconic figure, Sachin Tendulkar. With a relatively unknown entity as Captain and with hardly a handful of core players, Wright along with Sourav Ganguly has taken the team to new heights, the proof of which is that India has 10 overseas victories in the 20 odd Test wins that the combination has achieved, including a drawn series in Australia that many felt India won on points, and a maiden Test series triumph in Pakistan. Two ICC KO trophy Finals appearances with one victory, a finals apperance in the Asia Cup, and making it to the finals of the World Cup were further feathers in the cap.

But the much improved ODI and Test performances also reveal the problem. India under Wright and Ganguly have become good enough to win matches overseas but not series, to reach finals but have been unable to deliver the coup de grace on most occasions. This is where Chappell may be the man to help the Indians take that final step.

Chappell has been very lucky in that he has come in after a four and half year stint by one of the best coaches India has had. He also has a team that has taken the modern mantra of fitness and professionalism to heights that no previous Indian team had ever reached. Chappell also has the advantage of an integrated unit, that has seen the least number of new faces and chops and changes of any team in international cricket this decade. Credit for that team spirit and continuity should largely be given to Sourav Ganguly who has shown fierce loyalty to "his" men. Backing them when they are down both privately and most crucially publicly he has engendered a fierce loyalty in return. It is indeed ironic that Ganguly is currently in the throes of a crisis of confidence created both by his poor form and the naked bias of a rogue referee where he may need some of that loyalty reciprocated.

But there are some worrying signs too for Chappell. Foremost is the cloud over the captaincy (mostly induced by outside forces) and the divisions it may sow in the team, despite both Ganguly and his erstwhile Vice Captain and current replacement, Rahul Dravid, being thorough professionals who have been "Through The Wars" together and thus share a deep camraderie.

Also clouding the picture is the fact that the Indian board is no longer led by Jagmohan Dalmiya, an internationally recognized administrator, who immensely benefited the game and the players during his time as head of BCCI. The Board is now suspectible to outside pressure in the form of ICC missives and internal politics like never before, and this lack of vision may manifest itself in the team's performance.

Finally there seem to be incredible expectations of Chappell, unlike Wright who came in with nobody expecting anything. And sometimes the weight of expectations if not properly managed can lead to vicious recriminations, especially in the volatile world of Indian cricket fans who are amongst the most fickle in any sport.

But there is reason to believe that Chappell has what it takes to help the Indian team take the next step. One adage that holds true in business and is equally applicable in cricket is that the organization often reflects the personality of its leader. Wright was a hard working, completely devoted, essentially decent fellow, who lead by example, but was not overtly aggresive in his approach. Chappell is all that Wright was: hard-working, devoted, essentially decent, and one who leads by example, but he also has that certain typically Australian aggresiveness and brusqueness which does not hesitate to call a spade a spade if not a bloody shovel.

He also comes in at a time when Wright had laid a very solid foundation in terms of fitness regimen, professionalism in terms of nutrition, off-season training, and such. All he needs to do is tweak and fine tune it. Also unlike Wright, Chappell asked for and got up front a commitment from the BCCI bigwigs to much more leeway than Wright ever had in terms of support staff, and even team composition. This certainly augers well for Indian cricket.

Another benefit that Chappell enjoys is that he has a stature in the game that even the "stars" of Indian cricket cannot dismiss lightly. He is as close to an Australian Cricket institution as there is after the passing away of Sir Donald Bradman. He can use his enormous influence both among his Australian friends and colleagues and around the world to benefit the Indian team. One recent example is when he roped in Dennis Lillee to have a stint at the NCA with the squad of fast bowlers.

So while there are bound to be ups and downs especially in the begining of Chappell's term, one is quite optimistic that in Greg Chappell India has found the missing ingredient that will allow the team to go from brilliant but inconsistent winners to brilliant and consistent winners.