Harsha on Chappell

Harsha gives two thumbs up for Chappell in his weekly column. When comparing the personalities in Chappell and Ganguly, he likens them to two different groups of people in India.

Chappell arouses strong feelings in the two Indias that co-exist at the moment. In India’s thriving, achievement-driven private sector they love him. The words he writes, the language he uses strike a chord in ambitious young men and their bosses who want to get the best out of them. At the same time, a lot of the older managers, facing change and uncertainty in their own lives, sympathised with Ganguly and thought he deserved another opportunity. That is the other face of India where, as my cousin told me, zor ka jhatka dheere se dena chahiye. They believed that we need to respect the past and nurture those that have been successful.

At the end of Wright's tenure, most Indina cricket followers had the feeling that the Kiwi had become just a passenger; perhaps, less influential in proceedings. Maybe, this was because of Wright opting to go along with the system rather than changing it.

John Wright took the other route. He started off with fresh thoughts, with a different work ethic (“breakfast in the hotel and practice at the ground, not the other way around!”) but as he started to understand India better, those close to him said he became more Indian than anyone else!

There are questions posed and in reading through, I thought he was vague in saying which side he is on (After all, who can avoid taking sides in this imbroglio?). But he was clear at the end and I couldnt agree more.

He can be cranky and inspirational, innovative and calm, all rolled into one. When we bought into him we bought into the whole package. And I think we bought well. When change comes knocking, there will always be one or two who will feel the heat. Either they adapt or they get looked over. In this case Ganguly is having to adapt and he can if he looks at this positively. If he scores runs, he will look Chappell in the eye and I think he will discover that this divide is not as big as it seems. Chappell has fired the first shot, now Ganguly needs to load his rifle. Only if he does that can the warriors embrace.