Chappell praises Kumble's appointment as coach, hits back at Ganguly
India's most controversial coach also lauded the decision to pick Anil Kumble as head coach of the current team.
Mumbai: There is an air of friendship, old enmity and nostalgia in Indian cricket after Anil Kumble’s selection as the head coach of the cricket team. Greg Chappell – India’s most controversial coach – hit out at former skipper Sourav Ganguly, one of the advisors for BCCI, who helped pick the coach.
During the selection process, Ganguly said he won't make the same mistake (like appointing Chappell as coach) again.
“Indian cricket has never reached the heights that it should because it has relied too much on natural ability and flair rather than diligent preparation. Too often in the past, Indian teams have tried to take short-cuts rather than work hard so any success has been fleeting.
It was something that I was appointed to change, but it needed key players, not least of all the captain, to buy-in and lead by example. Sadly, this didn’t happen until Dravid was appointed and the next 12 months brought some consistent success because of the change at the top,” he wrote in The Hindu.
It was obvious that he hinted at the then skipper Ganguly and other players like Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Zaheer Khan.
But Chappell believes that Kumble’s association with Virat Kohli will do India good.
"The greatest asset that Kumble has is that he has a captain who has a robust self-belief, is courageous and who will lead by example in all areas," Chappell was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.
Kumble will join the team as coach in the upcoming tour of West Indies.