Sachin Autobiography: Greg Was A Ring Master
2007 was perhaps the low of Indian cricket. It was the time when Greg Chappel was the Indian coach and Dravid the captain who led the team during the world cup. The autobiography of Sachin – “Playing My Way” comes with some spicy and interesting tid bits about the game of cricket. Perhaps this is why cricket never fails to dim down on the entertainment or the drama factor. In a nation which is completely obsessed with cricket and Sachin is god, the god speaks through his autobiography!
The real shocker!
This is probably more entertaining and in a way disappointing that one man – a coach was allowed to make such a difference to a team, to BCCI which is perhaps one of the most powerful bodies governing any sport in the world. These are a few excerpts about Greg Chappel from Sachin’s book
“Greg was a ring master”
He wanted to control the entire team and wanted to get rid of the older players in the team. And here I thought that the era of dictatorship died down after the second world war! I mean I understand the importance of a coach but the team was really well balanced with the old and the young keeping the right balance between the two. The giants in the form of Sachin, Saurav and Dravid were really in their heydays of performance and they did play some amazing cricket and I am amazed to know how bullish it was.
“Greg wanted to replace Dravid”
I have no idea what problems he had with Dravid’s cricket but Dravid certainly is one of the best batsmen the world of cricket has ever seen. His performance, records, consistency are only overtaken by the kind of a man he was/is and how elegantly he handled it all. Apparently Dravid knew what was going on and he also knew that Greg wanted to replace him but he was someone who could not be handled.
No one was safe with Greg – neither Sachin, nor Saurav nor Dravid
Well if there is someone who wants to dominate cricket not by cricket but with a stigma and a closed mind, I guess someone beat everyone else to it. I think it was perhaps one of the worst phases of Indian cricket when it was under his control and I recall that the issue with Greg and Ganguly had become a public one and it was clear that he wanted Ganguly out. However the reasoning with Dravid who was the captain back then is something which I find uncalled for.
Greg Asked Laxman to open
And laxman politely refused being fully aware of his strengths and comfort zone. However the response from Greg was quite alarming – It is hard to make a come back esp when you are 32!
And how old was Greg when all this was happening?
And the real question is, why did it take so long to sack Greg?!
More answers and questions in
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Thanks for the excerpts.. It should be a good read..
Thank you Roohi.. It sure sounds very promising. I am all eager to read more and share more :)
Chappel is a notorious villain to the Bengalis …for what he did to Ganguly…:-P…The allegations sound true, at least to most of the cricket-lovers of India..
He he yea.. Poor Ganguly, I think he got the worst out of Chappell. He he indeed indeed ;)
It is indeed true that 2007 was the worst phase of Indian cricket, and all credit for all this mash up should goes to Greg Chappel only. Though Greg denied all these allegations made by Sachin Tendulkar, but we Indians will never trust him for this. It is not like that I worship Sachin as the God of cricket, but still as a person as well I do have a very high place for him in my mind.
Honestly how can I forget those days Vinay. It was the time when India and our board forget the person who brought new life to Indian cricket and he was Saurav Ganguly. Board was so fooled by Greg that they actually show the way to the greatest captain of India as well. I sometimes feel bad about Dada, but then I am glad that a player like Sachin Tendulkar came up with the truth about those black days…