It is easy to be critical of one side or the other and to try and simplify things by talking of cultural differences or just blaming the person in the corner opposite the one you have painted yourself in. Indian fans and media have done something in the case of Greg Chappell.
The problems that culminated with the end of Greg's term as india's coach are many and varied - and the fault does not lie with one side.
It is sad that this was the case for I still believe that given different circumstances and better appreciation of what was needed, what the coach's assignment and powers could/should be, better appreciation of the personalities and sensibilities of both sides, a sense of partnership in the process undertaken by the people concerned instead of the adversarial roles taken up and compounded by the inevitable (and mostly damaging) trial by media and in public, Greg could have been one of the better things to happen to Indian cricket.
There were many things wrong with Indian cricket and still are. I believe that Greg Chappell had a very good appreciation of what they were and was very sincere in his efforts to introduce corrective measures. That he went about it in the wrong way is the easier way to put it. The fact that it did not work and things went so horribly wrong makes it clear that something was wrong but it wasn't so simple so as to allow us to put the entire blame on a single individual or even a set of individuals. It is more complex and people made mistakes on all sides involved, none showed the largeness of heart to be able to realise that taking affront was not the need of the hour and that both sides had nothing but the interest of Indian cricket at heart so lets sit down and listen to each other with an open mind and a willingness to accept. At least Chappell has today, even though very late in the day, accepted, and in public, what he did wrong and needed to do differently. One hasn't heard a pip of a similar hue from the other side and I doubt if we will.
People talk so much about how different Wright was from Chappell and how the system could not have been so bad if Wright could manage. Read Wright's book and you will see how, in his own way, he tells you all that is wrong with Indian cricket and how there was much he couldn't do anything about. It is just that he realised that there wasn't much he could do about it. Chappell did not. He believed it when he was told that he was the boss and was a much bigger and stronger personality who wanted to do a 'complete' job as he thought right.
This is not to say that Chappell was right but it also does not mean he was wrong.
The power structure, and I do not mean the official organisation structure of the BCCI, within Indian cricket is very complex and this invariably lends itself to political machinations. This needs correction. That is not the job of a coach but if he comes from a system where the stucture is sharper and clearer and he is likely to go about doing what he thinks he ought to do. The fact that he fails to work within the nuances of the complex 'informal power structures' that exist in the Indian (and Pakistani) cricket set ups is not his fault but that of the bosses of the board and/or their lack of sincere commitment to set the house in order.
The power lies with the board and its 'honorary officials', it lies with senior cricketers, it lies with former cricketers with vested interests in the running of the game, it lies with sponsors and it lies with the media.
Where are you going to find a coach to manage so many 'bosses'? It is much better to be pliable and go along the flow. Then, if you are lucky, as an Indian coach in the last decade and a half must count himself to be, the talent of the team will produce good results and you will get the residual credit after all others have been given theirs. But if you do not go along then look out !!!
