THE WAY THE COOKIE CRUMBLES

 

 

The Sunday Indian has never been coy when it comes to a frank assessment of Greg Chappell as the coach of the Indian cricket team; nor has it believed in being hypocritically politically correct when it comes to opinions about his place in Team India – it was always outside! So it came as no surprise when reports filtered in that Chappell has resigned as coach. Rather than surprise, there has been relief because Indian cricket fans would have been subject to the embarrassing sight of Guru Greg being thrown out by a beleaguered and besieged BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India).

Much to the astonishment of cricket fans, Chappell continued to have backers in India even after the disastrous performance in the World Cup when it was thrown out in the first round. But his fate was finally sealed when the iconic Sachin Tendulkar (who rarely, if ever, makes controversial statements) reacted to selective leaking of mud-slinging stories to the media by going ballistic and saying, “I have given my heart and my soul for 17 years. No coach had even mentioned in passing that my attitude was not correct. What hurt us most is if the coach has questioned our attitude”. The BCCI might reprimand Tendulkar for the sake of public appearance. But cricket fans will thank him for sticking his neck out when it came to the troubling questions: who will bell the cat and who will tell the arrogant emperor that he has no clothes.

Many pundits have used statistics to defend Chappell’s indefensible tenure as the coach; after all, hasn’t the team won 32 out of a total of 62 matches played under him as coach? But statistics can also be used to peddle half-truths and lies. The fact is, India has won only 13 out of 34 One-Day matches it has played outside India. And on virtually every occasion that it has gone overseas, it has been battered, bruised and humiliated by other teams. Some would call it poetic justice for Sourav Ganguly. But many more will feel that the careers of Irfan Pathan and Harbhajan Singh might just be saved from Guru Greg’s capricious clutches. Au revoir mate and we won’t wish you become future coach of Australia. Why destroy such a great team!