As youngsters, we were lucky to have Greg Chappell as a coach: Suresh Raina
Former Indian batsman Suresh Raina has opened up on his experience of playing under former Indian head coach Greg Chappell. The former Australian skipper was one of the most controversial figures in Indian cricketing history.
Many senior Indian players during Greg Chappell's time as a head coach felt he created a divide in the dressing room. His rather infamous episode with Sourav Ganguly is known to almost every Indian fan.
Speaking with Gaurav Kapur on the podcast 'The 22 Yarns', Suresh Raina explained how well Greg Chappell worked with the-then youngsters like him, Irfan Pathan and Robin Uthappa in the squad. He also revealed how focused Chappell and the-then Indian skipper Rahul Dravid were on improving India's fielding standards.
"I think him (Greg Chappell) and Rahul Dravid were very disciplined. I and a lot of other youngsters who came into the team worked really hard. They wanted to have a lot of youngsters in the squad. We were lucky to have a coach like him where they supported junior players. He wanted to make India a No. 1 fielding side," Suresh Raina said.
Suresh Raina speaks about his experience as a captain
Suresh Raina has also captained IPL sides like Gujarat Lions and the Chennai Super Kings for a few games. He believes there were many senior players that helped him become better as a captain.
The 34-year-old also shed light on the contribution of his Uttar Pradesh captain and former Indian batsman Mohammad Kaif in making him a good leader. In the end, he credited MS Dhoni too for teaching him the art of getting the best out of one's players.
Suresh Raina said:
"I learned a lot about captaincy from my Uttar Pradesh captain during the Ranji Trophy as well as from Kaif Bhai.
"I had a lot of experienced players at Gujarat Lions like Dwayne Smith, Brendon McCullum, etc. so I learned from them too.
"I also learned a lot from MS Dhoni and also captained a few games for CSK. He taught me how to back players as a captain."