'No one knows how to disrupt a team better than Greg Chappell,' says Harbhajan Singh
Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has lashed out at former Indian coach Greg Chappell for the latter's time at the helm, which eventually culminated in an embarrassing exit from the 2007 World Cup. Harbhajan Singh further added that the World Cup exit was the lowest point of his career.
Speaking on Aakash Chopra's YouTube channel, the Turbanator criticised Chappell for dividing the team, and stated that no one could figure out the Australian's motives.
"When Greg Chappell came to coach our side, he disrupted the entire team. No one knows what his motives were. No one knows how to disrupt a solid team better than Greg Chappell. He used to do whatever he wanted," said Harbhajan Singh.
He also talked about the impact of the elimination from cricket's biggest tournament on a personal level.
"2007 50-over World Cup has to be the lowest point of my career. I thought we are going through such a difficult time and I also thought that maybe it is not the right time to play for India. Wrong people were at the helm. Greg Chappell was trying to divide and lead, he used to do such things," the CSK bowler said.
Harbhajan Singh and the 2007 World Cup
Greg Chappell's tumultuous reign as Indian coach saw him leave the team after their ignominious exit from the 2007 World Cup.
Captained by Rahul Dravid after Sourav Ganguly was stripped of his role by Chappell, the Men in Blue suffered shock defeats at the hands of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Harbhajan Singh didn't pick up wickets in either of the two losses.
Chappell was removed from his position as head coach immediately after the tournament. Harbhajan Singh went on to play a key role in the 2011 World Cup triumph, and took 9 wickets over the course of the competition.
Bhajji is India's second-highest wicket-taker across all formats, and even spoke of a T20I comeback a while ago. After spending over a decade at the Mumbai Indians, he was signed by CSK in the IPL Auction, and has excelled for them on the spin-friendly pitches at Chepauk.
Harbhajan Singh has a lot of cricket left in him, and could still make an international comeback.