Sachin Tendulkar Attacks Greg Chappell

Sachin Tendulkar Attacks Greg Chappell, Calls Him a 'Ringmaster' in His Book

Sachin Tendulkar, in his autobiography, writes that Greg Chappell was dictatorial in his ways as Team India coach

Legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has lashed out against former India coach Greg Chappell in his autobiography. Describing the veteran Australian cricketer as a 'ringmaster,' Tendulkar writes that he imposed his ideas on players. (When a devastated Sachin Tendulkar wanted to quit cricket)
Specifically, Tendulkar writes in his book that Chappell did not have any respect for Rahul Dravid as captain. "Together, we could control Indian cricket for years", the Australian told Tendulkar during a visit to his home when he offered to "help me in taking over the reins of the side" from Dravid, the master batsman writes in his autobiography "Playing it My Way" due for release on Thursday. "I was surprised to hear the coach not showing the slightest amount of respect for the captain, with cricket's biggest tournament (2007 World Cup) just months away", Tendulkar writes. (Read more here | Related: Not fair to blame Chappell for India's 2007 World Cup: Gavaskar to NDTV)
Appointed coach of the national Indian cricket team in May 2005, Chappell had a controversial stint with the team. While his spats with Sourav Ganguly made headlines repeatedly, Tendulkar has now come out and criticised the former Aussie legend who, in 2011, had called him 'fragile on occasions'. (Also read: Sachin Tendulkar stood by me during Chappell controversy, says Ganguly)
The two had a fallout when Chapell tried to tinker with Tendulkar's batting position. He later regretted the decision. "My biggest regret was falling out with Sachin over him batting at number four in the one-day team," Chappell was quoted as saying by PTI in September 2011. (Greg Chappell created doubts in our minds, reveals Harbhajan)
Chappell however also tried to bring in several other changes in the Indian team during his stint as coach. Most of these were not appreciated by senior players. Even Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh previously slammed him and showed support for Ganguly. "It was as if you've been framed. It was like 'we don't want you in the team. It's not about performance, we don't like your attitude, you're stopping the growth of cricket in the Indian team'. I felt it personally because I was dropped straight after the Sri Lanka tour, even though I had not performed badly," Zaheer had said on NDTV's Walk the Talk show

Chappell took over the reigns of the Indian team in May 2005 and the Australian looked to encourage young players in the side. He however was constantly in disagreement with senior players including the then skipper Sourav Ganguly. In fact both Chappell and Ganguly were involved in a public spat on a few occasions as well. Zaheer though said that most players were quite worried during the phase that had Chappell as India's mentor. "In that phase it was always a struggle. When you're fighting within the team, when you have a war to fight in your own camp, it is always difficult to win."
In fact at the end of Chappell's tenure around the time India exited early in the 2007 World Cup, the former Australian skipper had asked for an extension in his contract which was denied. For Zaheer however, things looked up as just when he said he felt completely demoralised, the county stint with Worcester came his way. "Worcester taught me the reason I'm playing this game. Sometimes when you play at the highest level, especially in India, the whole country is so passionate about the game, so whether you do well or do badly it affects you in many ways. So when I went to Worcester, it was just me playing cricket," he said.