- Chappell stresses collective faith, team before individuals
- Part of this strategy was dropping stars like Ganguly
- Dravid, Tendulkar and selectors are roped in
- The strategy is explained to players
- BCCI lets think tank handle task
One of Chappell's key areas of focus was in getting the players to start believing in one another more than before—"collective faith" is what he called it. Perhaps the team needed to go through some manic upheavals to learn what it really is about. "Faith is not something that comes easily to Indian cricket teams. It is very much about the individual—and this gets reinforced often. It has been taught by many generations of seniors. I saw it when I played and it has carried on because it was very evident when I took over as coach. I discussed this with Rahul and Sachin who confirmed what it was like. Rahul realises that if he doesn't break the mould, it will go on for another generation. We have also encouraged the younger guys to speak up in team meetings and during games. (Dinesh) Kaarthick and Robin (Uthappa) are two who have the confidence to do so. Those who have been around longer still need some time."
It does appear that the Board of Control for Cricket in India has left the task of team-building essentially to the selection committee and the team management. "Yes, we leave that to the right personnel," BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah told Outlook. "We have always maintained that the team is of paramount importance but if a player is branded as a star, it is by the media and the public, not by the board. A star by himself is of no value if the team does not come together strongly and perform well. Even when it comes to awarding contracts to the players, we rely heavily on advice from the chairman of selectors, captain and coach."
Former chairman of selectors Kiran More, who was part of the group that introduced the change, says it was important for India to recognise that the collective had to come first. "The team's performance was falling after the high of the maiden Test series win in 2004 in Pakistan, and some time after Greg took over as coach, we sat down with Rahul and chose a roadmap," More told Outlook. "We made some tough decisions along the way—like dropping Sourav Ganguly and Zaheer Khan—but only with the intention of forging one solid team. It was not the easiest of things to do in this country and some players asked me hard questions. But it was really up to them to pull up their socks and come back with better fitness and an attitude that works for the team."
More says this line of thinking was not easily understood by all players and some reacted to being dropped from the side as if it were a crime, or an affront to their stature in Indian cricket. "Beginning with the team and its players, if the message can percolate down to first-class sides and reach out to the media and fans, we would have done our bit for Indian cricket," he says. He also hopes that some of the acerbic criticism by some former stars would stop since they were unaware of what was happening within the selection committee. "It is important that this philosophy of team before self stays in Indian cricket long after the present lot fades away."
Skipper Dravid, of course, has done much of the talking and explaining to the players. Never an easy task. It will be interesting to revisit what he had told Outlook earlier this season. "What they (the affected players) want is to make decisions for the right reasons," he said. "All of them might not agree with every decision that you make. They are fine as long as they know you have made the decisions with the best interest of the team in mind and with some sort of reason to it. That is the only way I look at it."
The coach himself is not looking too far ahead. "We just have to keep plugging away. Success at the World Cup will help," Chappell said. "If we can play as well in the World Cup as we did against Sri Lanka in Vishakhapatnam, we will do okay." Suggest to him that given the current competitive state of the top eight teams, a semi-final berth would be seen as success, and Chappell tells you that would only be equal to getting pass marks. And he is not only speaking for himself but for his bosses in BCCI too. Yet, irrespective of what happens at the World Cup, Chappell and Dravid along with the selectors will be remembered for their attempt to change the way players in Team India learnt to put the side before themselves; they will be remembered as the agents of change in a field of fossilised attitudes.
