MUMBAI: For the Australian cricketers, most current and former, India seems to have become a second home, thanks to the amount of time they spend in this part of the world. Perhaps, the pioneer, when it came to exploiting the India market, was former Australian captain Ian Chappell, whose columns and commentary earned him plenty of fans in a cricket-mad country.
‘Chappelli,’ as he’s fondly known, enjoys an almost 50-year-old relationship with India. “I first came here in 1969 with the Australian team. One of the first things I noticed about the Indian fans was that they were very knowledgeable. They were telling me things about my career that I didn’t know about,” says the 74-year-old, who was in town to launch ‘SportsHero,’ a sports gamification and marketing platform. Excerpts from an interview..
Having seen the likes of Sunil Gavaskar to Sachin Tendulkar, where would you place Virat Kohli in the pantheons of Indian batting?
He’s certainly one of the best batsmen, I would say top three, of his era. The only thing you can say is that a champion of one era is a champion of the other era too.
Do you think that sometimes he gets over-aggressive at times?
He’s a bit emotional at times. It’s something that he’ll improve. As a captain you need to keep your emotions pretty level. However, that’s also a part of who is. And I think that’s a part of him being a good player. I don’t have a problem with that as a player, but I think at times it gets in the way of his captaincy.
What do you think of him as a captain?
He’s a good captain. He’s aggressive. I think his team will win Australia.
Virat apart, what’s your take on India’s Test No 3 Cheteshwar Pujara?
I think he’s a very good batsman. I liked from the first time I saw bat against Australia in India in a Test. I really liked the look of him.
Do you think India have a better chance of winning abroad now because they’ve a better fast bowling attack now?
Their stocks are pretty good. That’ll help in Australia. You need good pace bowling there. I think that the fact that they’ve got some wrist spinners will help them too, because wrist spinners, if they bowl well, perform well there. India have a good attack for the Australian conditions.
Do you think it’s time that India bloods wrist spinners in Tests abroad?
You’ve got to pick your best bowlers. Ashwin’s one of your four best bowlers at the moment. I wouldn’t be discarding him in a hurry.
Do you think Kuldeep Yadav gets an edge because he’s a chinaman wrist spinner, and there aren’t many like him?
You make a difference by being a good bowler. He’s pretty accurate for a wrist spinner. I like the look of him. He’s got a lot of potential. He’s the sort of bowler who, if he bowls well in Australia, he’ll have success.
Are you disappointed by the way the ICC handled the whole ball-tampering fiasco?
I can no longer be disappointed by the ICC. They’ve done it so often, that I’m no longer surprised or disappointed by anything that they do.
Do you think that Steve Smith and David Warner will be the same players after their return?
It will be hard for them to go at that level. Just living their life will be hard. The name of being a cheat in Australia is pretty bad. So they’re going to find it hard.
Does the ball-tampering episode, followed by the humiliating 492-run, mark the worst few days for Australian cricket ever?
I stopped worried by winning and losing in March 1980 because if you can’t have an effect on it, then why should I get too concerned about it? I was just annoyed at the stupidity of the whole thing. That’s what annoyed me the most. People can get on their high horse and say that its damaged the reputation of the team that I played for. I don’t look at things like that. I was just disappointed at the stupidity.
Do you follow the IPL?
You get to see it in Australia on television. I keep up to date with it by following the cricket websites. T20, like any game, if played well, is enjoyable to watch.
Are you going to watch any IPL games here?
We are going to the Wankhede tomorrow.
Who do you predict the winner today?
We better bat for the Mumbai Indians otherwise we’ll get thrown out of the stadium.
In the light of T20 leagues like the IPL getting stronger by the day, do you fear for the future of international cricket, especially Test cricket?
Test cricket needs a world championship. The scheduling is a problem.. It’s disjointed. The idea to put more context into Test and 50-over game, is important.
Do think that the ‘card system’ will work for cricket? For example, a red card, which throws a player out of the game, may work well to force the players to behave better on the field…
No. that might work for football, the rugby league and sports like that. But, you imagine if Kohli gets a red card on the first day of a Test. And he’s gone for the rest of the match. I mean, punish him down the track, but to take him out of that match…that’s irrecoverable for a cricket team.
A few years back, it was reported that you had refused to commentate in India. What had happened?
I didn’t refuse commentating in India. It’s part of my job. But, I don’t like being told what I can say, and what I can’t say. And I don’t think I can do my job properly (in that case). So that was the basis of not taking on that gig. It wasn’t dealing with the BCCI, but with a company.
Are people too harsh on the Aussies right now, especially because they were infamous for sledging on the cricket field?
Something definitely needed to change. I mean Darren Lehmann (former Australian coach) said that they should perhaps copy the example of New Zealand. Well, why didn’t he think about it before the event, rather than after it.
Do you expect Australia to bounce back after this huge setback?
It’ll take a while. However, you can bounce back reasonably quickly if you’ve got a good bowling attack, like Australia does have…but the batting will be definitely down.