Greg's the Wright man

After months of speculation by the media and cricket crazy public, Greg Chappel was finally appointed as the coach of Indian Team until World Cup 2007. Personally, I was very satisfied and relieved to hear about this. There were 4 candidates in the race: Mohinder Amarnath, Greg Chappel, Desmond Haynes and Dean Jones. Actually, Desmond Haynes was roped in last minute as Sandip Patil pulled out due to prior commitments with Oman. I am not taking anything away from Haynes' ability to coach, but why did BCCI have to rope him in if Patil pulled out. If Haynes' wasn't considered good enough to be short-listed, why bring him in just to fill in the numbers ?? But, this is Indian Cricket, where anything is possible. A "panel" was appointed comprising of Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri and Srinivas Venkatragavan along with mahendra and Dalmiya to interview the candidates.
There is rumor that Gavaskar was staunchly in favor of Amarnath as coach. But thankfully, BCCI din't make the mistake of appointing him as coach. A person who cannot operate a laptop or talk properly with the media (if you heard him say " I have a lap, not a laptop", you will know what I mean), doesn't merit becoming coach. Top teams like Australia, South Africa and Pakistan have computer savvy coaches. So Amarnath was out.
Desmond Haynes had a slim chance because of him knowledge of the West Indies pitches which might have helped India's preparation for the 2007 WC to be held in the Carribean. But, if India has to become a world class outfit, one that can win tests abroad, then we need more than a person who only has knowledge of carribean tracks. Remember, Desmond Haynes was a last minute inclusion, so he was never really in the hunt..
As most of us knew, it was a toss up between Tom Moody and Greg Chappel.
Most of the Indian players were said to be in favor of Moody as coach because of his bowling skills which would help India when they are touring abroad. Moody also had age on his side. Being soft-spoken and having a demeanor similar to Wright might not have done him good, coz what Team India needs at this point is a tough talking person who can make the "stars" in the Indian Team accountable for their places in the side. We need a coach who is aggressive and can stand up for the Team. A taskmaster who can motivate the boys to play well most of the time. Greg chappel has all the above qualities. A legend in his playing days, a widely respected individual and an archetype Aussie, Greg Chappel has it in him to take India to the "next level". For all our sakes, let's hope that he succeeds. His detractors might remember him as the person who asked his brother Trevor to bowl underarm in the last ball of the match against NZ in 1980, so that NZ couldn't score the 6 runs needed to win, but it's this kind of intense desire to win at all costs, that make him an ideal choice. Teach India a few dirty aussie trick, and you would have done well. He even has a online cricket coaching website.
FYI, Messers Venkatesh Prasad and Balivder singh sandhu were reportedly unhappy for not being considered for the post. If you have been an avid cricket follower over these years, you would know well that these players used to hang on to their places in the team by a fine thread. Surely, you expect Prasad and Sandhu to take India to the "next level"....the next level below !!