Fight Master

The ODI series win in Pakistan meant channels changed when the images of Chappell-More effigies burning on Kolkata streets appeared on national television.

The Ganguly issue was dying out but Chappell decided to play the stereotypical aunt who with her vitriolic remarks has the knack of spoiling the most pleasant of family gatherings.

The time and place where he came out with the Greedy Ganguly story only makes it worse. It surfaced in London and on the first day of the first Test between India and England, a series that in the past has seen Ganguly betting his shirt on winning it.

And with the once bankrupt cricketer-turned-businessman-turned-coach, who passionately haggled about the wages of support staff, talking about Ganguly8217;s financial gluttony, the captain-coach battle has got a different colour.

Finger salutes in Australia are as common as kangaroos. Warne did it once and Chappell did it at Eden Garden. That day it was the squeaky excuse of an injured finger. This time there8217;s not even that.

BUT look beyond Chappell8217;s forked tongue and you see a figure who has constantly lived under shadow of an elder brother who was a bully during backyard games, a more popular commentator and a much better captain. When Greg made his first Test ton, the bytes were not about his feat but about finally being not just Ian8217;s younger brother. Chappell was an inspirational captain but he lost an Ashes series and his most outstanding batting show was against an exceptional Windies bowling in the World series without official status.

The television generation with serious disregard for history remembers his deviant 8216;victory at any cost8217; instruction to his brother Trevor and that famous graffiti in MCG stands 8216;Chappell your under-arm stinks8217;.

When he joined the Indian squad he found himself in the company of Ganguly, a batsman inferior to him but with a cult following. This meant that at the head of the team table there was place for only one.

With his 8216;My way, or the highway8217; logic and an overawed bunch of selectors, Chappell won the 8216;I or him8217; battle. The end of the Delhi Test against Sri Lanka last year saw how Chappell relished the all-powerful position.

After India8217;s landslide win, Chappell walked out first from the dressing room waving to the crowd applauding their support as the day8217;s performers and the captain followed in a sort of daze.

For most of those following Greg were from the John Wright era and quite used to the ritualistic 8216;search the coach8217; exercise before every smiling-winning group photo, the winds of change were evident.

Greg must be enjoying the packed stands, frenzy outside the team bus and the constant media spotlight but this electric atmosphere comes with a skull and bones sign and a short fuse. Tendulkar8217;s flawless public image has meant his slumps are pardoned.

Chappell did seem to be grafting a bond with the fans but his Greedy Ganguly quote could be seen as a breach of trust. Lazy, manipulative, incompetent 8212; all taken with an pinch of salt but Greedy? That8217;s something that Indians fans have associated with a certain captain in an era that they want to forget.

But they do remember that their 8216;Dada8217; was part of that murky era but came out tall, walking in flowing white flannels. It8217;s like Richie Rich being called the Slim Shadey.