senile, purely senile

The undisputed "Mr Big Mouth" of Indian cricket speaks again. He says that no Indian is fit to be the coach of the Indian team and that Greg Chappell, despite his lack of success should be retained.

Just to highlight this man's poor memory, he goes on to say that India had good success under John Wright because they played against weaker teams. Maybe he forgets that the World Cup in 2003 had the same teams as this one; maybe he forgets India toured Australia and almost pushed them over the limits under Wright as opposed to the whitewash Chappell's team faced in South Africa (a good team no doubt, but still second to Steve Waugh's indomitable Aussies).

The styles adopted by Wright and Chappell, at least to outsiders, are distinct. Wright coached the team and tried to get the out of form players back in form. Chappell chopped and changed. Wright maintained a low key approach, always putting the team first. Chappell on the other hand seemed always keen to hog the limelight and nurse his (inflated?) ego over and above everything else. Definitely, he lacked the sensitivity and tact of John Wright. All said and done, Wright was the perfect foil and coach for a high profile cricket team. Chappell, despite being a great player, stands deep in shadows of Wright so far as coaching is concerned.

However, what one should take from the Chappell era is the fact that he at least had the guts to take a few tough decisions. The decision to drop Ganguly was perhaps the best example (although the shameful manner in which this was done definitely left a bad taste).

Like all individuals Mr Dungarpur has the right to vent his opinion. And like all individuals we have the right to have a good laugh at them.