'Commitment to excellence will be the watchword'
Minutes after he got the news that he was appointed India's next coach, Greg Chappell spoke exclusively to Cricinfo
Anand Vasu
20-May-2005
Minutes after he was told that he had been appointed as India's next coach, the former Australian captain Greg Chappell spoke exclusively to Cricinfo from the Taj Palace hotel in Delhi. Swamped by reporters and rushing to a press conference, he took a few minutes off to shed some light on what the last few days have been like:
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What's your first reaction on getting the job?
It's a great honour to get the job, obviously. It would be a great honour to get the coaching job of your own country, but this I think in some ways is an even greater honour.
It's a great honour to get the job, obviously. It would be a great honour to get the coaching job of your own country, but this I think in some ways is an even greater honour.
What are the key things you'll be thinking about in the near future?
My presentation was all about commitment to excellence. So that really will be the watchword. Obviously I have to settle down and speak to the players and the board. I don't like to coach through the media, so the days to come will reveal the kind of approach I take.
My presentation was all about commitment to excellence. So that really will be the watchword. Obviously I have to settle down and speak to the players and the board. I don't like to coach through the media, so the days to come will reveal the kind of approach I take.
Was it a massive relief to finally hear that you had got the job?
I have been pretty relaxed about it. Before the presentation I had been quite keyed up - much like I used to be in the past when I was going out to bat! But by that point I had done all I could and it was not in my hands any more. Whatever the result was going to be I had to accept it. I hadn't staked my life on the result, and I would not have been distraught if I didn't get the job. Obviously it would have been a disappointment had I not got the job, but luckily things worked out well.
I have been pretty relaxed about it. Before the presentation I had been quite keyed up - much like I used to be in the past when I was going out to bat! But by that point I had done all I could and it was not in my hands any more. Whatever the result was going to be I had to accept it. I hadn't staked my life on the result, and I would not have been distraught if I didn't get the job. Obviously it would have been a disappointment had I not got the job, but luckily things worked out well.
You've worked with different teams before. But with the current crop of players in the team do you see this as a chance to take a team to great heights?
That's what we hope to do. But there's a lot of hard work between here and there. It's not going to be easy, but it's a challenge I keenly look forward to. But let's not get carried away with that just yet.
That's what we hope to do. But there's a lot of hard work between here and there. It's not going to be easy, but it's a challenge I keenly look forward to. But let's not get carried away with that just yet.
Anand Vasu is assistant editor of Cricinfo