Rahul Dravid had the vision of making India the best team in the world: Greg Chappell

Former Australian cricketer Greg Chappell claimed that Rahul Dravid had the vision of making India the best team in the world. Greg Chappell's term as head coach of the Indian team is one of the most disputed chapters. Chappell was appointed the head coach of the Indian cricket team when John Wright ended up having tumultuous two years as coach. Under Greg Chappell, the Indian cricket team suffered a first-round exit in the ICC 2007 World Cup. Bangladesh and Sri Lanka also defeated them. The result received a lot of backlashes, and the former Australian cricketer was released from the role.

Dravid did not receive support from senior players during his captaincy tenure: Chappell

Greg Chappell also disclosed how Rahul Dravid, the then-captain of the team, wanted team India to strive for the best. However, the former also highlighted that he spotted resistance in some players, which did not work well for the team. After Sourav Ganguly was removed as captain, Rahul Dravid was put in charge of the Indian cricket team. It was under the captaincy of Rahul Dravid that the Indian team went into the World Cup. However, the side couldn't go beyond the group stage. Greg Chappell, in the Cricket Life Stories Podcast, talked about Dravid's captaincy term. He stated that Dravid had the vision to make the team best, but other seniors were not supporting his ideas. Rahul Dravid captained the Indian cricket team in 25 Tests and 79 ODIs, winning 50 matches in total.

Sourav Ganguly, who arguably had the most torrid time of his career under Chappell, was even dropped from the India squad. However, Ganguly made his comeback before eventually retiring from the game in 2008. Chappell stated that the resistance in the team led to Ganguly's return. He further added that the case with the other senior players was also the same as no one wanted to change but didn't want to sit out either. As for Sourav Ganguly, he continued to play international cricket for another year. His final ODI appearance came in November 2007. The legendary batsman retired from the purest format of the game in 2008, playing against Australia in Nagpur. Greg Chappell might be known as one of the best Australian batsmen, but his term as India's coach was a forgettable one.

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