AFTER A HIMALAYAN hue and cry, finally it’s curtains for Greg Chappell and die-hard Indian cricket fans are saying hurrah, forgetting the despondency the World Cup performance had induced. In Chappell’s head, they have got their pound of flesh — print and electronic media included.

 

But as Chappell exits, Team India needs to introspect and make amends. Blaming Chappell alone will not help. For, it wasn’t the Australian coach alone to blame for the defeat against Bangladesh and the shameful exit from cricket Mahakumbh. The blame equally lies with the cricket management system and the mercenary players.

 

It is indeed being irrational in putting all the blames at Guru Greg’s door. Why it is being forgotten that the coach only prepares the team. He doesn’t play. If the fault was with him, his resignation should make India the top cricket team. Also, it is relevant to recall previous coach John Wright, who, too, had expressed unhappiness with senior players of the team.

                              

It’s common knowledge that the Indian team was divided into two lobbies — one led by Sourav Ganguly and another by Rahul Dravid. The coach found it extremely difficult to reconcile the players divided into camps of senior players. This was the inner scenario when the expectation of the country and the coach was that they would collectively perform as a national team. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has its hands full and its needs to fix problems on many fronts — from grooming talent, to selection, to tackling the team problems.

 

It is also shattering to hear senior players blame others, than themselves, for the dismal performance on the Caribbean islands. They, in fact, should have taken the onus of poor performance in every department of the game — fielding, bowling and batting. They failed on all the fronts. What could have Chappell done?

  

We have examples of the Australian cricket team, which believes in experimentation. It is owing to this that they are able to beat any team. The Australian players believe in competition, as they are well aware that they will be shown the door if they fail to perform.

 

Another important aspect is that Indian and Pakistani players are not ready to step down or announce their retirement when they fail to perform. Successful cricketers like Shane Warne, Steve Waugh, Vivian Richards, Richard Headily, Courtly Ambrose, Arjun Rana Tunga, Courtney Wales all quit the game when they realized they were past the prime.

 

Our little master was hurt when the coach had put a question mark on his attitude. But did he realize that millions of people, too, were hurt when they failed to perform in the World Cup.

 

Most cricketers were least bothered about the game and were busy shooting for different brands while other countries were busy practising.

 

So instead of playing the blame game, our cricketers should concentrate on the real game. Selectors should trace budding talents and prepare them for the next show.