— FILE PHOTO: K. Bhagya Prakash

CANDID TALK: Greg Chappell has been forthright in his views regarding various aspects of Indian cricket.

Chennai: Greg Chappell's eyes scanned the lobby, now picking out a familiar face, now flashing a smile. Despite the strains of a hectic schedule that has seen the teams criss-crossing the country, he chose to keep an interview promised to The Hindu.

The past few months have challenged the Indian team, thrown up more disappointments than successes. And the days ahead — the season culminates with the World Cup — will be demanding.

Chappell believed Rahul Dravid was the right man to guide India during this testing period.

He said, "Dravid has been captain for over more than one year. In this period, India won a Test series in the Caribbean in a long time, won its first-ever Test in South Africa. India also set a World record for 17 successive ODI wins chasing. When you assess Dravid's captaincy, you will have to take these three achievements into account."

Unfair criticism

The India coach felt it was improper to criticise someone in hindsight. "You can actually take to pieces every decision. Dravid would be the first to admit that he could have done some things differently. Whether that would have changed the outcome, no one will ever know. Sometimes a judgment will have to be made in a split second. And a skipper's decision will be based on the information he has at a particular moment and the personnel he has at that moment. And the form of people at that moment can influence many things. I think Dravid has been courageous, sometimes putting himself in the firing line. He's been very selfless.

"Instead of going after Dravid and his captaincy, I think you would have to look at the whole picture."

Sporting wickets a must

Chappell realised the importance of preparing sporting pitches at home. This would not only help the young Indian batsmen in their formative years, but also encourage bowlers of all kind. India faces a serious crisis in the spin bowling department, where there is a disturbing lack of depth and options. A pitch of true bounce would enable these bowlers learn their craft better.

"This is absolutely essential. Otherwise, Indian cricket could suffer. The sooner this is done, the better," said Chappell.

He then turned his attention to a couple of decisions made during the final Test in Cape Town. Among the moves that came under scrutiny was the one to send Virender Sehwag as an opener in the second innings. Replied Chappell — "It was not an error, it was an opportunity. Dinesh Karthik did a fantastic job as an opener (in the first innings) but then `kept for so many overs. He was unlikely to repeat his feat. The other option was to send Dravid and Laxman up and that would have changed a lot of things. The wicket was more like an Indian pitch, we were 41 runs ahead, and Sehwag had made useful runs in the first innings. We wanted to take the game up to South Africa. One person they wouldn't have wanted to see in the situation was Sehwag. From a cricketing logic point of view, it had a lot going for it. Unfortunately, it did not work."

Harbhajan's omission

The omission of off-spinner Harbhajan Singh from the eleven was also debated upon. Chappell defended the decision, "There were a number of issues. We weren't prepared to either give up a fast bowler or a batsman. Harbhajan hadn't bowled for some weeks. He had some injury concerns. Weighing all the options, the best ploy was to use Sehwag's off-spin as the second spin option. Again the decision was based on the information we had about the conditions before the match."

Despite a disastrous tour of South Africa, Chappell retains his faith in Sehwag. "Having some time away from the team might help him clear his head, freshen him up and help him come back with a much clearer focus. We have had many conversations. And we intend having several more conversations in the future. Like in all players, the mind sometimes gets confused. The time away will help him reassess himself what he wants to achieve and whether he has the passion to come back and play for India. I have no doubt he will."

The pacing of the Indian innings in the Cape Town Test and several ODI games has proved a roadblock. The Indian batsmen have lost momentum and the initiative.

Without getting into personalities, Chappell admitted this much. "This has hurt us on occasions, and we have tried to find a way out. We have shuffled the batsmen around, tried different things, but... "

Chappell congratulated Sourav Ganguly for his comeback. "It was never Chappell vs. Ganguly, never between two personalities. I only look at cricketing issues. How the others see it is their choice. The whole thing has been completely blown out of proportion. If the same situation arose, I would have the same view on it. It was about somebody needing to improve to offer 100 per cent to the Indian team. Ganguly has come back extremely well and all credit to him. Zaheer Khan too faced similar issues and has responded well. Sometimes the only way you can enforce non-negotiable issues is through selection. But right now I have nothing but praise for Ganguly and Zaheer."

Among the younger cricketers, wicketkeeper batsman Karthik has caught the attention of the coach. "Karthik is a very exciting talent. He is a smart boy and a good thinker of the game. He has got some charisma around him and some confidence. If you don't have confidence, you won't survive in this game. He will be a leader in Indian cricket, what leadership role he gets I have no idea, but he is a leader. When you look at groups of people, there are certain types of people who have more chance of success than the others," said Chappell.

(The second part will appear on January 31).

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