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HIGHLIGHTS

  • Deepak Chahar scored an unbeaten 69 against Sri Lanka in the second ODI
  • Deepak Chahar was once rejected by former India coach Greg Chappell
  • Chahar was rejected by Chappell at RCA for his height, says Prasad

Australian legend and former India coach Greg Chappell during his stint with Rajasthan Cricket Academy (RCA) has told Deepak Chahar to quit cricket and look for some other job, said former India pacer, Venkatesh Prasad.

Prasad revealed it on Twitter, after the 28-year-old Chahar played a match-winning knock in the series-clinching second ODI win against Sri Lanka. Chahar, a right-arm medium pacer, coming out at number eight, hit a 82-ball 69 not out to help India notch up a three-wicket win in the second ODI against Sri Lanka on Tuesday.

“Deepak Chahar was rejected by Greg Chappell at RCA for his height and told to look at a different occupation. And he single handedly won a match with not even his primary skills,” Prasad tweeted.

“Moral of the story- Believe in yourself and don’t take overseas coaches too seriously,” said the 51-year-old Prasad who played 33 Tests with 96 wickets between 1996 and 2001.

Chappell was appointed Rajasthan Cricket Academy’s Director of Cricket by former IPL chief Lalit Modi after he resigned from India coach’s position.

“There are off-course exceptions but with such wonderful talent in India, it’s time that teams and franchisees consider having Indian coaches and mentors as much as possible,” said Prasad.

Chappell’s two-year tenure as India’s head coach was tumultuous. Sachin Tendulkar in his book, ‘Playing it My Way’, had even called Chappell a ringmaster who imposed his ideas on players without being concerned about whether they felt comfortable about them or not.

However, before Chappell, India were poor chasers. In a year after he arrived, they went on to win 17 successive matches, batting second. It was during his tenure that India won a Test series in the Carribean after 25 years, in 2006. India also registered its first Test victory in South Africa during Chappell’s time.

Author

India today

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