According to the former Indian coach Greg Chappell, Rahul Dravid possessed the caliber to take India to different heights but didn’t get the support from his teammates. Chappell made all the headlines when he was the head coach of the Indian National team amid his feud with former skipper Sourav Ganguly. Also read below Greg Chappell about the Indian team in 2007
The ‘Prince of Kolkata’ couldn’t find his place in India’s squad under the leadership of Chappell. The ‘Men in Blue’ were humiliated in the 2007 World Cup in West Indies where they failed in the second round itself. Sourav Ganguly was brought back into the side and Greg Chappell saw the axe.
Greg Chappell opens up about the Indian team in 2007
Chappell stated that many Indian players were selfish and they just wanted to secure their place in the side instead of thinking about the team. He added that the senior players of the team were very resistant.
“Dravid was really invested in India becoming the best team in the world. Sadly, not everyone in the team had the same feeling. They would rather concentrate on being in the team. There was some resistance from some of the senior players because some of them were coming to the end of their careers,” Chappell was quoted as saying on Cricket Life Stories Podcast.
“When Sourav got dropped from the team, we had a lot of attention from the players, because they realized if he can go, anyone can go. We had a great 12 months, but then the resistance got too much, Ganguly came back into the team.
“The message from the players was loud and clear – ‘We don’t want change.’ Even though the board offered me a new contract, I decided that I did not need that kind of stress,” he added.
Also read: “Anil Kumble has given me a few sleepless nights as a batsman”- Kumar Sangakkara
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