Two incidents last week made me go back to 2006 when Greg Chappell was first inducted as coach of Indian cricket team. The first one was the Best Batsman for ODIs (at the Asian Cricket Awards) award going to Sourav Ganguly. The second, more significant impact, was that of Suresh Raina's hat-trick of great scores (including two centuries). Looking back at the turn of events after he was appointed, one can see how Chappell was ahead of his time during his short stint.

Less than a week before he took charge of the national team, he warned India's senior cricketers against complacency, saying that certain aspects of the coaching regime would be non-negotiable. Chappell stressed the need for discipline and unity of purpose. His views on captaincy were pretty strong. He believed that one should pick the best team, and then pick the best person to captain it. He felt that Ganguly was not performing well with the bat and should be rested as captain. Ganguly's scores, after making his comeback, justified Chappell's action. Statistics show that he was the best batsman in Asia last year.

As to Sachin Tendulkar's injury, it could be a blessing in disguise. There have been multiple instances in the last few years when the legend has been laid low by injury - and what happened? - India were able to identify players like Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina (in his new avatar), who have the potential to play for India.

Chappell also believed that a coach was expected to provide an environment players realise their potential. He wanted the Indian followers to get away from this notion that one individual can come along, wave a magic wand and turn a bunch of ugly ducklings into graceful swans. It would obviously take time to identify a core nucleus which starts performing well. But the expectations increased and based on some initial results they proved to be the bane of Greg's tenure, especially when the Indians bowed out of the 2007 World Cup in the first round

Chappell was also instrumental in trying something different like changing the batting order, bowling at different times in the innings and fielding positions. This met with opposition but Chappell viewed the likes of Suresh Raina and Piyush Chawla as having the potential to do something great for India. The exodus of big-namers, including Chappell, nearly crippled Australian cricket in the early 80s, and he often spoke of the need to avoid something of that nature happening to the Indian team. Today, the performances of these two players are there for all to see. Obviously, they are not the finished product but, given opportunities and provided they keep their head on their shoulders, they should be the legends of the next generation.

Chappell said Dhoni, when fully mature, could be India's answer to the Australian finisher Michael Bevan. He recognised Dhoni very early in his career as the Indian coach. Today, MS is the best batsman in the Indian side, combining flair and execution when required. There is no more intelligent batsman and though he has had his share of failures, he will quickly from them.

Irfan Pathan was also recognised as a very important member of the one-day and Test teams because of the balance of the side. Chappell was confident that Irfan would learn from the ups and downs in his career. The comeback over the last one year has shown how Irfan has grown in stature after he was dropped.

Ten years down the lane, if one looks back at the Indian cricketing history, one might be tempted to call Chappell's period as the Indian cricket coach as a failure. That would only be an attempt by someone who does not understand how the actions he initiated during his stint would bear fruit over the next few years.