'You've got to be ruthless to be successful' - Chappell

Even as India's finest gathered in Bangalore to prepare for the arduous season ahead, Greg Chappell, the new coach, has set about putting in place the coaching philosophy that he feels will make a champion side out of a team that has often fallen short at the final hurdle. Chappell's first assignment in Sri Lanka next month could see him without the services of Sourav Ganguly - India's most successful captain is suspended for four more matches - and Sachin Tendulkar, who is expected to return after surgery on a troublesome elbow only later in the season.

Such handicaps don't deter Chappell, however, as he seeks to focus on the positives. "I've asked 25 players to come for the camp so that I can take a look at the fringe players and our bench strength," he said, in an interview with Dileep Premachandran for Wisden Asia Cricket. "With the schedule that we have in international cricket these days, injuries will happen. We need to be in a position to know who the back-up players are and we need to give them opportunities. I suppose the fact that Sourav's not going to be available for a few games and the fact that Sachin's not available until later in the year gives me the chance to look at other players."

He was also categorical that his former status as one of Australia's greatest batsmen would count for little as India geared up for the World Cup in 2007. "My reputation as a player should mean that they give me a good hearing to start with, and from then on it's down to my ability as a coach," he said. "No matter what you call it, coach or manager, the person you appoint has to have a wide range of skills. I think it helps if the individual has had some playing experience at that level, but it's not mandatory as we've seen with the Australian team. John Buchanan's done a very good job with the Australian team by getting them to think differently."

With Ganguly expected to miss out on the triangular series in Sri Lanka, it remains to be seen whether there will be a permanent change at the top in the near future. But regardless of who holds the reins, Chappell - who led Australia with distinction in the late 1970s and early `80s - believes that the coach's role is strictly a backroom one, with the captain the unquestioned leader. "They don't need to be best friends but there has to be a good working relationship," he said, when queried about the dynamics of the captain-coach relationship.

"Once the game starts, the captain's the one out on the field. He's the boss, it's his team. I think that's a very important demarcation between the two roles. The coach can't make any runs, can't take any wickets, can't take any catches. He can't change the bowlers or order the field placings. That's the captain's job and he's got to have the support of the players."

Much has been said and written in recent times about the top players enjoying iconic status, and too many endorsement contracts taking their eyes off the red cherry, but Chappell doesn't subscribe to the view that India's elite will be hard to get along with. "Many of them, despite having been very successful, still have doubts and fears about their ability to make runs, take wickets and so on," he said. "I don't see them as celebrities. They might be famous, and busy and successful off the cricket field. All I ask from them is that when they're playing cricket, they focus on that. I've dealt with cricketers most of my life. I know that most elite athletes are just big kids at heart. They like to enjoy themselves, they like to be successful, they like to be recognised for what they do."

Having endured a form slump or two during his career, Chappell emphasised the need for greater patience from the fans and media. Ganguly and some of India's other guiding lights have had a wretched run of it in recent times, but Chappell was confident that good times were around the corner. "There are a limited number of players who have the wherewithal to be successful at international level," he said. "It's not about the physical ability to hit the cricket ball, or bowl it. It's about being able to focus, travel well, cope with all of the pressures of living in the spotlight, being away from your family and friends. Most importantly, you need to have a temperament that can cope with failure because elite sport is all about failure. "Coaching is about observation, it's about watching and picking up the cues - much like it was when I was playing. Having been there and been through it all, it makes it easier, perhaps, to recognise early that a person is getting into a state of mind that might lead to him having a poor run."

Like his brother, Ian, Chappell recognises that there are limits to what a coach can achieve, and says that the role is more of a facilitator or manager. "You can't go and graft your skill and knowledge onto someone else. All you can do is provide an environment where they become the best players that they can be. We've got to get away from this notion that one individual can come along, wave a magic wand and turn a bunch of ugly ducklings into graceful swans."

In his playing days, Chappell was a hard, often ruthless, taskmaster, the captain who tore up Greg Matthews' cheque after the flamboyant allrounder had flippantly talked about playing his debut Test for free. The tough-love ideology hasn't been discarded either. "If someone continually needs to be picked up and have his hand held, then we're not going to be successful," he said. "You have to be ruthless as selectors, ruthless as coaches; we've got to demand high standards in all areas. We've got to provide an environment that gives everyone the best chance of success, but if they keep falling down, we haven't got time to stop and pick them up. We've got to find those who can stand on their own feet, think for themselves, and make decisions in real time."

While working with "some of the best players to ever be on a cricket field" didn't intimidate him in the slightest, Chappell was clearly aware of the role that intense media scrutiny would play in India. "There are so many members of the media, all of whom want a bit of time," he said. "If I gave everyone 10 or 15 minutes, the season would be over before it started. Managing that is probably going to be as big a challenge as anything from the playing point of view."