New Delhi: Greg Chappell, former Australian cricket captain and the ex-coach of the Indian cricket team, is facing a financial crisis, show reports. He coached India from 2005 to 2007, a turbulent time for the team that saw both glory and scandal.
The 75-year-old former Aussie skipper’s friends have stepped up to help him and launched an online fundraising campaign on GoFundMe.
According to reports, Chappell was hesitant and “reluctantly agreed” to accept a GoFundMe page for him, as well as a tribute lunch at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on 23 October — where Eddie McGuire was the host and cricket legends, such as his brothers Ian and Trevor, were present.
According to News Corp, Chappell said that he was not in a “dire” situation, but also did not have the kind of extravagant lifestyle that many current cricketers have.
“I’m not on the bones of my a**e. I certainly don’t want it to sound like we’re in desperate straits, because we’re not — but we’re not living in luxury either. I think most people assume that, because we played cricket, that we are all living in the lap of luxury. While I’m certainly not crying poor, we’re not reaping in the benefits that today’s players are,” Chappell was quoted as saying by News Corp.
“It is just my friends who realised that we didn’t get a lot and just to make sure that Judy and I were comfortable in our retirement,” he added.
Chappell also hinted that many players from his era were struggling financially and deserved recognition for their contributions to the game.
“To be fair, there are others of our era who are in more dire circumstances that could do with the help and I don’t think the game has done enough for players of that era,” he said.
He said that he believed that the players who set the stage for what was happening today should be acknowledged for the role they played in getting the game to where it is today.
Meanwhile, the 75-year-old’s friends came out in support and said that Chappell was too proud to admit that things were tough.
“Greg is a very proud man. He’s doing it tougher than what he says,” Peter Maloney was quoted as saying in a news.com.au report Thursday.
Maloney also said that Chappell did not accept money from the Chappell Foundation, a charity he oversees, even though he could.
“The Chappell Foundation is run by Darshak Mehta and 100 percent of the money that is raised gets distributed. They distribute it annually, so at the end of each year, they don’t leave any money and they’re starting afresh.”
“If you put your name to a foundation, you’re entitled to take some money out of it. But Greg hasn’t taken a cent out of it, even though he could have,” Maloney said.
He also revealed that Chappell’s friends aimed to raise around $250,000 through camping for the Australian legend. The GoFundMe had raised approximately $97,000 as of Saturday.
Chappell was a legend as a batsman for Australia, playing 87 Test matches and 74 ODIs before hanging up his boots in 1984. He amassed 7,110 runs in Test cricket with 24 centuries and 2,331 runs with three centuries in the 50-over format. He was considered one of the finest batsmen in the world in his heyday.
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A controversial coach
After retiring, Chappell became a broadcaster, writer, and coach. His coaching stint with the Indian team was full of controversy but also had some high points, such as India’s first Test win in South Africa in 2006.
However, he also faced criticism from many Indian players, including Sachin Tendulkar, who called him a ‘ringmaster’ for imposing his ideas on players in his autobiography, Playing It My Way.
According to the extracts released from the autobiography, Tendulkar also wrote about the argument Chappell had with captain Sourav Ganguly over his batting position in the one-day team.
Other Indian cricketers, such as Harbhajan Singh and V.V.S. Laxman supported Tendulkar’s statements and even accused Chappell of ruining Indian cricket.
“Chappell made Indian cricket go in reverse,” Laxman said to NDTV in 2014.
“In 2006, it was the poorest team environment I experienced. I played under different coaches and captains for 16 years, but that year had the worst atmosphere in the dressing room,” he stated.
Chappell has reportedly denied Tendulkar’s claims and said that he was “very surprised to read the claims made in the book.”
(Edited by Richa Mishra)