Herr Gregory Allen Chappell... auf wiedersehen!

Being an Indian, I would have liked to have seen Greg Chappell continue as the Indian cricket coach for another couple of years, but that doesn't seem to be a practical option now, especially when there has been an air of dislike towards him after India's world cup exit.

I feel gutted when somebody says John Wright was a better coach than Greg Chappell. Agree that John Wright helped India to the cup final in 2003 and that the team achieved many important victories under him – due credit to him. One does, however, tend to forget a few things such as, a majority of the senior players then were at the prime of their career, when Dravid was voted player of the year, when Ganguly was managing a good balance between his batting and captaincy, and Tendulkar was amongst the runs. Not to mention, Laxman was having the batting form of his life. That John Wright was influential in India's success is undeniable. I could say Wright was in the right place at the right time.

After having read the recent comments made by a few of the Indian team and the staff, I really wonder how many people might have cooperated with Greg during his tenure. In fact, I find it very hard to hazard a guess as to ‘how many teams there could have been within the Indian cricket team’ – was there a mutiny? It cannot be a one-man show, nor can a single person be expected to turn things around without the cooperation of all the team players. A utopian like Greg Chappell who is forthright and believes in his principles, and more importantly, practises them will be missed dearly by cricket aficionados in India who understand cricket better without succumbing to sheer passion.

I vehemently hope, rather against hope, that sanity will take precedence in the decisions made by the Indian cricket board, by not buying into public outcry and all the speculative remarks made by the media.