Ian Chappell has a deep sense of history and although he came to be known as the one who perfected the art of sledging along with his teammates of the 1970s, I later discovered he loved meeting people who he played with.
Ian Chappell (left) with Clayton Murzello at Baroda on February 16, 1996. Picture/ Suresh Karkera
February 16, 1996.
I was watching the Holland team at nets a day before their first World Cup game - against NZ - in the 1996 Wills World Cup at Baroda. Suddenly, I heard a voice, a voice that I heard many times on television. I looked back and discovered my hero was literally close at hand.
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Ian Chappell was at the nets to get his pronunciation right for the Dutch players before going on air the following day. Armed with his pencil and notebook, he was delighted to meet their batsman Nolan Clarke, who had played against him in the Australians vs Barbados game on Australia’s 1972-73 tour of the Caribbean.
Ian has a deep sense of history and although he came to be known as the one who perfected the art of sledging along with his teammates of the 1970s, I later discovered he loved meeting people who he played with.
I introduced myself to Ian as he left the net area. He politely declined my request to be interviewed only because he was writing for the Indian Express and didn’t want to be unfair on them. I was touched by his warm yet no-nonsense approach and It felt good to meet my hero. When he wrote his autobiography Chappelli in the 1970s, an Indian publisher (Rupa & Co) rolled out a paperback version which was titled Chappelli, his nickname. I had read only excerpts of the book but I wanted to own one. I no luck for eight years before I could find a copy in Pune’s Deccan area.
Back to 1996. On match day, Ian appeared in the press box and enquired whether the national sports editor of the Indian Express was covering the game. He was not, but his colleague was. Apparently, Ian wanted to know what kind of piece did the newspaper want from him post the match. That is some example of his professionalism, I thought.
He is known to do this even today because he feels the reader comes first and is respectful of their needs which emerge through the editor he writes for. Since 2003, Ian Chappell has been an integral part of mid-day’s coverage.
Never afraid to tackle subjects which exposed him to criticism, Ian is as brave as they come. When no one had the courage to take up issue with Sir Donald Bradman as a key administrator in Australian cricket, Ian chose himself to be the man. As captain of Australia he was not coy to let The Don know that the players deserved a bigger share of the pie. He will go to his grave in the belief that it was Bradman, through his tight-fisted-with-money approach, who was responsible for World Series Cricket. This breakaway circuit split cricket from 1977-78 to 1978-79.
Cheers to Ian Chappell on the 25th anniversary of our association and friendship. And thanks to my colleague Suresh Karkera for this photograph.
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