Nobody exactly knows what went south with the Indian cricket team during 2007 ODI World Cup when the side was knocked out in the group stage after losing crucial games against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The 2006 to 2007 season is seen as one of the darkest chapters in history of Indian cricket as there was numerous controversies under head coach Greg Chappell. Former India cricketer Robin Uthappa has opened up on the period describing what went wrong the that World Cup campaign. He also accused Chappell of leaking dressing room information.
Greg Chappell's tenure with Team India was marked by several controversies, most notably his public fallout with then-captain Sourav Ganguly, whom he controversially removed from the team. This rift deeply divided opinions and alienated Chappell from India's passionate cricket fans. His stint as head coach ended on a sour note after India's disappointing exit from the 2007 World Cup, which ultimately led to his resignation.
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Speaking to Lallantop, Uthappa said, "Us team ka mahool bahut kaharab tha (The environment of that team was very bad). Greg Chappell was running an agenda. He was coaching with an Aussie mindset, saying, 'This is how we do things in Australia. ' I don’t think he ever respected Indian culture. He came in and tried to bring the Australian culture. The environment of that team was very bad."
“He also had a bad habit of leaking information when things didn’t go according to his plans. That didn’t run well with the players. He leaked dressing room information,” he added.
Uthappa and Chappell's relation
Robin Uthappa said that Chappell was good to him. The seniors of the team were often at loggerhead with the coach as he insisted on the concept of strength training.
"As a youngster, Greg Chappell was very good to me. I just entered the team. I was young, and he used to back youngsters. As a 20-year-old, a dream was to play for India, win for India, hopefully one World Cup I will win for India," said Uthappa.
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"When you get that opportunity to play for the country, you feel like boss. You don’t need anything else. I will give everything for my team. I played with that mindset," he added.
Speaking about how Chappell did not find support from the seniors, Uthappa said, "It was during the Greg Chappell era when strength training was introduced. In Australia, it already existed. Greg Chappell saw that missing in India. Fitness was not the way of life. He was trying to bring in change."
"At that point, he found resistance from the seniors. They were not used to the fact that here is a guy coming and imposing things on us without showing us the basis respect that is shown," he added.
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