Greg Chappell lacked man-management skills to be Indian coach, reveals Mohammed Kaif

05/27/2020

Mohammed Kaif has stated that Greg Chappell failed to understand Indian culture properly and that invariably resulted in him failing as the team coach. Kaif has further added that people respected John Wright because he coordinated well and let Ganguly the captain lead the team from the front.

Greg Chappell’s reign as India head coach was a highly controversial one, with the Australian getting into a big spat with the then Indian captain Sourav Ganguly. His constant chopping and changing meant the seniors, more often than not, found themselves on the firing line, leaving a trace of bad memories in the mid-2000s. Mohammed Kaif, who was one of Chappell’s favourites to replace Ganguly, now spoke about the tenure saying the Aussie had no clue about the Indian culture.

"Chappell could have been a good batting coach. But he spoilt his name, as he could not run the team properly, he couldn't understand the Indian culture and lacked good man-management skills and hence didn't prove to be a good coach," Kaif told Times of India.

Chappell had taken over the coaching responsibilities from John Wright, a widely respected and adored coach in India. He was succeeded by Gary Kirsten, another highly successful and loved coach, but Chappell could never really make himself likeable. Kaif pointed out that Wright let them be their own men and let Ganguly lead from the front, which was the reason behind him being respected so much.

"People respected John Wright because he coordinated well with the players and let Ganguly the captain lead the team from the front," Kaif added.