Chappell defends coaching methods

Greg Chappell, the India coach, has defended his coaching philosophy, calling for supporters of Indian cricket to be more patient as far as results are concerned.

His comments come in the wake of Sourav Ganguly's statements about fans expecting results too quickly, urging them to give Rahul Dravid more time to grow into the job. Speaking to the media in Durban ahead of the second ODI against South Africa, Chappell outlined the importance of having a proper structure, but cautioned that success cannot be achieved overnight, citing instances with England and Australia.

"Countries everywhere, corporates, use a system," said Chappell. "There are highs and lows in everything, you have to be patient about things and cannot afford to be too emotional, or it will lead you nowhere. In Australia, for instance, we started a process in the mid-eighties, and it took nearly nine years for things to come together. The England line-up that won them the Ashes last year was also the result of a process that took five years."

Chappell had also reacted to criticism from former players that his plans India hadn't worked, given India's current slump as a one-day side since the tour of West Indies. One of the main talking points has been the constant shuffling in the batting order and the persistence with certain youngsters who haven't performed consistently enough. Chappell backed the strategy of persisting with youngsters, highlighting the importance of identifying players at the junior level.

"If speaking the truth in India is a problem, then Indian cricket has a problem. Ideally, the junior cricket programme should go hand in hand with the plan for the seniors. If it doesn't, then it is fraught with danger. A feeding process is necessary, because if there isn't one, it would create a vacuum when senior cricketers leave in a bunch."

Following India's defeat in a warm-up match against Rest of South Africa in Benoni, Chappell was not very perturbed about the performances of the fast bowlers, especially Munaf Patel and Sreesanth, who were guilty of leaking too many runs towards the end of the innings.

"They were inexperienced at that and it showed but they can only gain experience by going out there and getting it. I also promise you Munaf will be good. We could not have won in the West Indies if we had gone with the same combination we went with in Pakistan."