Two years with India was very challenging, Ganguly didnât want to improve his cricket, reveals Greg Chappell
Chappell pointed fingers at Ganguly for India's failure
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Greg Chappell, looking back at his stint with India, has admitted that the two years he was the coach was a very challenging period for him, calling the expectations ridiculous. Alongside that, he also alleged that Sourav Ganguly didnât work hard and never wanted to improve his game.
15 years after the infamous spat between the Australian head coach Greg Chappell and the then Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly, the wounds have reopened. Several cricketers since then have voiced out their opinion that it was the Australian coach who ruined the Indian setup, which led to their dismal group exit in the 2007 World Cup.Â
However, the Australian has pointed the fingers at Ganguly, adding that the two years he spent with the Men in Blue was rather very challenging and demanding. Not just that, he also revealed that the expectations were unrealistic and ridiculous. Chappell also pointed fingers at Ganguly and said that the former Indian skipper never wanted to work hard and improve his game.Â
âThe two years in India were challenging on every front. The expectations were ridiculous. Some of the issues were around Sourav (Ganguly) being captain,â Chappell said on the Cricket Life Stories podcast.
"He didnât particularly want to work hard. He didnât want to improve his cricket. He just wanted to be in the team as captain, so that he could control things,â he added.
On the other hand, Chappell praised the former Indian skipper Rahul Dravid, stating that he was really invested in the team becoming the best side. Unfortunately, Dravidâs appointment as skipper came at the wrong time, with the duo only spending one World Cup together.Â
âDravid was really invested in India becoming the best team in the world. Sadly not everyone in the team had the same feeling. They would rather concentrate on being in the team. There was some resistance from some of the senior players, because some of them were coming to the end of their careers. When Sourav got dropped from the team, we had a lot of attention from the players, because they realized if he can go, anyone can go.â
According to Chappell, However, once Ganguly was back into the setup the resistance in the camp got to a point where the former skipper was controlling things.Â
âWe had a great 12 months, but then the resistance got too much, Ganguly came back into the team. The message from the players was loud and clear âWe donât want change.â Even though the board offered me a new contract, I decided that I did not need that kind of stress,â Chappell said.
