Photo Credit: Twitter Profile Photo of @GregChappellMBE
As cricket continues its efforts to expand globally by incorporating nontraditional cricket-playing nations, Australian batting legend Greg Chappell expressed regret over the decline of West Indies cricket. Speaking to the Indian media during a brief visit to the press box at the Adelaide Oval, the former India coach responded to a question about whether cricket should focus on consolidating its existing strongholds.
“Well, I think one of the tragedies is losing the West Indies,” Chappell said. “Having the West Indies drop off the top. I mean, if we had the West Indies at this level, it would be just so much better for cricket. So I think we missed a trick there….
“Pakistan, same thing. (But) The trouble with Sri Lanka is they don’t produce fast bowlers. And I mean, it’s only in the last 15 or so years that India really made a focus of finding fast bowlers. And now they can compete everywhere. The trouble with Sri Lanka is I just don’t think they have a lot of tall people that I saw. At least in India, particularly up north, you’ve got tall, strong, athletic people that can bowl fast. People kept telling me in India that, well, we haven’t got any athletes. I said, have a look at the army. They’re all athletes. They’re bloody 6 foot, they’re bloody strong.”
Chappell’s tenure as India coach was marked by both significant successes and challenging controversies. Reflecting on that time, he spoke warmly of Rahul Dravid, who became India’s captain during his coaching stint. Chappell praised Dravid’s leadership and recent achievements as India’s coach, including winning the T20 World Cup.
“He is a wonderful human being and a wonderful cricket person,” Chappell said. “He understands the game well. I’m not surprised at all. He is a great cricket person with great knowledge, and he is a good human as well and relates well to people. We stay in touch from time to time but it’s less so now that years have gone on. Since I haven’t been working in cricket, we don’t meet as often, but we’ve always caught up whenever we’ve been in the same city. I last saw him here in Adelaide a few years ago when he was coaching India. We’ve had a few WhatsApp messages, but as I’ve been less involved in cricket, that’s probably dwindled somewhat.”
When asked if he misses India, Chappell replied with a laugh, “Not really. But I miss a lot of India. I have very happy memories of my time in India. Sure, we had some ups and downs.”
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Name of Author: Cricexec Staff
