Greg Chappell wanted me as captain: Sachin Tendulkar - Indian Express

Sachin has made some serious revelation in his biography, including how then India coach Chappel coaxed him to take the captaincy. (Source: AP)

What prompted Greg Chappell to drop in at Sachin Tendulkar’s Bandra residence and ask him to consider replacing Rahul Dravid as India’s ODI captain for the 2007 World Cup? Here are some numbers that might throw some light on this unusual request.

For starters, the revelation might seem all the more curious since Dravid’s captaincy had seen India break new barriers in terms of chasing down totals after he took over in 2005.

The five-wicket win at Kingston’s Sabina Park on May 18, 2006 was their 14th straight successful run-chase. A run that would be broken two days later at the same ground with hosts West Indies pipping them by a one-run margin. The following six months then saw India slip dramatically in the 50-over format, which might have alarmed their coach.

India only won five out of 14 ODIs from that point on, eventually losing the series in the Caribbean 4-1 before being thrashed 4-0 in South Africa.

They also failed to reach the semifinals of the Champions Trophy played at home and were beaten by both Australia and the West Indies in Malaysia. It wasn’t just Dravid the captain but the batsman too who suffered a reversal in form-averaging 21.38 and scoring just two half-centuries. Whether it was alarmist enough for Chappell to seek a change of guard is debatable but this is what Tendulkar remembers about that Bandra night.

“Just months before the World Cup, Chappell had come to see me at home and, to my dismay, suggested that I should take over the captaincy from Rahul Dravid. Anjali, who was sitting with me, was equally shocked to hear him say that ‘together, we could control Indian cricket for years,’ and that he would help me in taking over the reins of the side,” Tendulkar writes in his autobiography Playing it My Way, excerpts of which have been released by Hachette India.

LACK OF RESPECT

“I was surprised to hear the coach not showing the slightest amount of respect for the captain, with cricket’s biggest tournament just months away. I rejected his proposition outright. He stayed for a couple of hours, trying to convince me, before finally leaving,” he further writes.

With the World Cup just a couple of months ago, Tendulkar, who had averaged 41.87 in the same period after recovering from shoulder surgery, reveals in his book that he wanted Chappell to be kept out of the tournament.

“I suggested to the BCCI that the best option would be to keep Greg back in India and not send him with the team to the World Cup. That is not what happened, of course, and the 2007 campaign ended in disaster ,” he writes.

As it turned out, India and Tendulkar were dumped out of the World Cup in the first round itself, following humbling losses to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Chappell continued…

Anjali, who was sitting with me, was equally shocked to hear him (Chappell) say that ‘together, we could control Indian cricket for years,’ and that he would help me in taking over...