Mindful that some of the senior Indian cricketers may not want to work hard enough for greater successes of the team, India's new cricket coach Greg Chappell has a message for his players -- "certain things" are non-negotiable and discipline is a must.
Stating that he did not want to be critical of his predecessor John Wright because he was very successful, the straight-talking former Australian captain has told The Sportstar in an interview, "it's not intended as any criticism but they (players) are going to have to work a lot harder in some areas."
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Chappell, who is taking over as the coach on June 15, does not anticipate any problem working with skipper Sourav Ganguly.
"...I worked with him before when he came to Australia and we spent four or five days together and I enjoyed his company. I found him to be very likeable and a very nice fellow. It will be good to renew acquaintances there."
Chappell said India have four or five of the best players in the world batting and to work with players of that quality woule be a great honour and opportunity.
"In the bowling you have Harbhajan and Kumble. There is a fair bit to work with but there is also a fair bit to do. It will be exiciting, challenging, frustrating,all of those. It will be a ride -- the big dipper."
"...You can do a lot of good things as a coach, but if the players don't respond to it -- unless you can communicate and connect with the, it's not going to work," Chappell said.
"I'll need to hit the right note with these guys, find the right level with them and get them to buy into the vision of being the best side or one of the best sides in the world."
Chappell said bowling and fielding were the areas where the Indians would need to work to emerge as a winning unit.
"Getting 20 wickets is a critical thing to being a winning unit. That's an area that will need some work. Fielding is another area that's going to have to improve enormously if we are going to go to the next level."
Chappell said he would sit down with Sachin Tendulkar, who is going through a crisis, in a bid to motivate him to some new challenges.
"You always go through different stages of your career, different phases of your career. Sachin has been around for 15 years and his performance over the 15 years have been extraordinary. He was always going to have some down periods.
"He has had some injuries, he has perhaps had a bit of a crisis over what his role and place is in the team.
"So it's a matter of being able to prioritise things. I think all he needs is feel welcome, wanted and to have a meaningful role in the team and I am sure he can bounce back."
Asked whether he considered coaching India as the toughest job in world cricket, he said, "I think it's the most exciting job in cricket, but it's also the most challenging job in cricket".
