Niranjan Shah, the BCCI secretary, has had a tough time, replying to a volley of questions from all quarters, including from the media. Despite being busy and visibly tense, he found time to grant Contributing Cricket Correspondent Haresh Pandya an exclusive interview at the Saurashtra Cricket Association office in Rajkot on Wednesday.
Now that Sachin Tendulkar too has openly criticised Greg Chappell's attitude towards the Indian players, what will be the BCCI's stand in terms of renewing the Australian's contract as the national coach?
I have come to know that Tendulkar has come down hard on Chappell in a newspaper interview. However, the BCCI has not yet received any report from Chappell or heard anything from the player concerned.
How do you, as the BCCI secretary, view a senior player like Tendulkar going to the media and speak against the coach in no uncertain terms?
I strongly believe Tendulkar has not done the right thing by speaking to the media about Chappell rather than coming to the BCCI. It was not expected from the senior-most member of the Indian team. If he had any grievances, he should have approached the BCCI directly.
Don't you think Tendulkar must have had enough of Chappell and his alleged dictatorial attitude towards the players and hence he took such a step?
Whatever it is, I must reiterate that no player should voice their views like this in the media. We are always open to listen to any player regardless of whether he is a senior or junior member of the Indian team.
Don't you realise that Tendulkar has probably expressed both the anger and frustration of almost all members of the Indian team with the Australian?
I do not think so. I cannot further comment on this because we are yet to receive reports of the captain, the coach and the tour manager.
What will be BCCI's stand in the event of Chappell criticising Tendulkar and other players in his report? Will it go by the coach's report or listen to the players?
All this and much more will be discussed when the BCCI officials meet on April 6 and 7. We will discuss reports of the coach, the captain and the manager. It is too early to say any more.
But it is not necessary that the captain's report should also carry the feelings of each individual player. Maybe this is what has led Tendulkar to go to the media and express his feelings...
Obviously, we do not want every player to give us a report. Reports of the captain, the coach and the manager are enough. The rest of the players can always approach us. We will listen to them, including their grievances.
But it seems that most Indian players are not happy with Chappell. What is your personal opinion, should India continue with Chappell or go in for someone else?
Frankly, I do not want to comment on this. Let the BCCI Working Committee decide this.
But you have openly said that Rahul Dravid should be retained as captain irrespective of our shoddy show in the World Cup...
Yes, I have. And I still emphasise that Dravid must be retained as the captain. But, again, this is my personal view only and the selectors have every right to appoint anyone, including Dravid, who they think is the right man for the job.
In the event of Chappell's contract not getting renewed, will India go in for a foreign coach or fall back on an Indian one?
We will decide everything at the Working Committee meeting.
Don't you think Indian cricket is in a mess?
How can you say that? We may have been thrown out of the World Cup. But it is not the end of the world. Do not worry. Everything will be fine with Indian cricket. It is just a matter of time.
