'We will win': Chandu Borde on how he revived Indian cricket after the Greg Chappell era
Former Indian cricketer Chandu Borde recently revealed how he revived the fortunes of Indian cricket after the fiasco in the 2007 World Cup under Greg Chappell. He also shared how he got the shock of his life when he was appointed as the manager of the Indian team for the England tour in 2007.
Chandu Borde shared his experiences about the various roles he played in the Indian cricketing setup - player, manager, coach and selector - in an exclusive chat with Indranil Basu on Sportskeeda Live.
Chandu Borde spoke about how he got the news regarding his appointment as the manager of the Indian cricket team.
"In the afternoon, the BCCI meeting was going on in Delhi. That time they wanted to select a manager also. I was sitting with my wife and about to have lunch. I got a call from the Secretary Mr. Ratnakar Shetty. He asked me if I had a passport. I said yes and he said that Pawar sahab will talk to me."
Chandu Borde added that he was in a state of shock when BCCI President Sharad Pawar called him to inform that he was going to England as the manager of the Indian cricket team.
"After about 5 minutes, I got a call from Pawar sahab. He said - 'Chandu, you are going as a manager of the Indian team'. I couldn't believe my ears. That came as terrific pleasant shock I would say. Surprise is different, I was so taken aback that my wife asked what had happened."
"I said I don't know, they have selected me as the manager of the Indian team to go to UK. That's how I went as the manager of the team and we performed very well. The performance of the boys under the leadership of Rahul Dravid was really outstanding."
On being asked if it was a masterstroke by the BCCI to appoint him as the manager of the Indian cricket team, Chandu Borde replied in the affirmative. He added that his varied experiences and the respect he commanded within the Indian team might have convinced the BCCI to appoint him as the manager of the Indian cricket team.
"Absolutely! I asked some of the Board officials and they said that something went wrong with Greg Chappell. Players were not very happy. They told me that there was a bit of a misunderstanding amongst the players. There was an inner fight that was going on. I had been their manager, selector and coach sometimes."
"So all these players who were on that tour in 2007 respected me greatly. They still respect me wherever I meet them. And that is one of the reasons, the Board must have thought to bring back somebody who can control these boys, bring them back together."
Chandu Borde appreciated all the players of the Indian cricket team, who gave him a lot of respect and set aside their differences to make it a memorable series for themselves.
"And let me tell you frankly, these boys respected me, they came together and we had a wonderful series. We won the series, in fact after such a long time. Lot of people did not give enough credit to our performance. I think 11 years or 21 years we had not won in England. But that series we won in 2007."
"I am really proud of these boys. One thing I liked about them, there was no bickering and everybody was very happy. And being a cricketer I knew what was their requirement. I only used to have a little chat with them and pat them."
Under Chandu Borde's managership, the Indian cricket team won a Test series in England after 21 long years.
Chandu Borde's mantra for his success with the Indian cricket team
On being asked how he managed to instil confidence in the Indian cricket team, Chandu Borde revealed how he broke the ice by first asking the masseur what he felt about the Indian team.
Chandu Borde subsequently asked each of the other team members including Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly to express their opinions.
"What happened, one day in England just when the tour started I called a meeting of all the players in the morning before going to the ground. When everything was sitting, I first asked the masseur what he felt about the team. Then I moved to other players asking them what we should do. I asked Ganguly, I asked Sachin, I asked Dravid. This way I started. And I allowed them to express their feelings."
Chandu Borde elaborated that he then gave them the motto of 'We will win', to get them the required belief in their abilities.
"I told them what we need to do, what we want to do. You are a good bunch of boys, you must do something. That time I told them that our motto should be 3 Ws - 'We will win'."
Chandu Borde expressed happiness that his approach worked and that the team came together as a unit and performed admirably.
"All these boys were very happy. I even asked the physiotherapist what his opinion was. So, I allowed everybody to open up like that. Somehow it brought the best out of them. Everybody performed very well and they appreciated each other's game. That's how we succeeded on that tour."
Chandu Borde's mantra worked wonderfully for the Indian cricket team, as after winning the Test series in England, they also went on to win the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup under the captaincy of MS Dhoni.