Never had doubts over Dhoni’s future: Chappell

Six months after he stepped down as the coach of the Indian Cricket team, Greg Chappell is back.

Six months after he stepped down as the coach of the Indian Cricket team, Greg Chappell is back. While understandably avoiding talking about his tenure as coach, he did say that he “never had any doubts about Mahendra Singh Dhoni having a big future. He has now proved he has a great potential, not just as a cricketer but also as a leader.

“The Indian team is lucky to have him and others like him. The team has given us all a glimpse of what the future holds,” he said in his first official press conference on arrival to take charge as advisor of the Future Cricket Academy here. His brother Ian is the director.

Talking to mediapersons, Chappell said he would want to look to the future and not look back. He is here with Ian Frazer at the invitation of BCCI vice-president and Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) president Lalit Modi.

Chappell stated that he was as happy to watch India win the Twenty20 World Cup. “I was watching the match back in Sydney and it was a wonderful victory for India.”

And what was he doing in the interregnum? “In Sydney, taking a break, recovering. However, now I am back and Ian and I plan to help the young boys achieve what they can in cricket. “We are here for the next three years to develop the RCA institute as one of the best.

Chappell stated that the modern game of cricket was much more demanding, not just for the players but administrators and coaches as well. “It requires the development of the physical and metal abilities and also a desire of an individual to make it big in cricket,” he said.

He said the three different forms of cricket — Test, one day and Twenty20 — will have a positive impact on each other if handled in the right manner.