Greg Chappell - 'I'm open to offers'

Firstly, are you interested in being coach of the Indian team?
I haven't really thought about it very much. If they [Indian board] approach me and want to talk about it, I'm happy to do it. I've got plenty to do and I'm really focussing on getting on with my life. I tend not to think too much in hypothetical terms. I'm open to most things and always prepared to look and listen. If someone wants to talk to me about a job - in or out of cricket - I'm open-minded enough to have a listen. Coaching any national team would be a great honour, but it would also be difficult because it brings its own set of challenges. It would depend very much on what the offer was.

You've dealt with the Indian board before. You were one of the candidates in the running when John Wright was picked. Will that experience colour your thoughts on the Indian board?
No, not necessarily. That was a different set of circumstances and in a number of cases different personnel. I tend not to hold on too much to things that happened in the past. I prefer to look at each situation in its own right and take a decision on what needs to be done. I wouldn't consider that a problem.

Your name has cropped up with other coaching jobs. But stories have gone around about things not working out because of parties not being able to agree on suitable terms. Why exactly do you want to coach India?
Coaching, for me, and being involved in cricket, is about remaining with the game I love and passing on some of the knowledge and experience. I had a lot of people who helped me - as a young cricketer and throughout my career. If I could help other young cricketers get as much satisfaction out of the game as I enjoyed, I'd be delighted to be involved. A full-time coaching job has some horrendous demands on it, especially at the international level. I'd have to consider all those things before I made any decision. I'm probably in a better position to take up a job like that now than at any other time in my life - my family has grown up, the kids are out and doing their own thing. I just enjoy the game and I find I'm still learning about it, discovering new things every day. Or perhaps a new way to do an old thing.

The five years of coaching South Australia probably taught me more than any other period of my involvement with the game because I had to think about things differently. Coaching is very different from playing in that you can't impact on the game as a coach. As a player you can impact a game by scoring runs or taking a wicket or taking a catch. Being a coach is more like being a parent and raising children. All you can do is prepare them the best you can and then it's up to them to make something of it. Watching children grow up, and play sport, is the hardest thing you can do because you have no real influence. Once someone walks out onto a cricket field it's up to him and his ability to be able to respond to a situation that develops. I suppose the art of coaching is to give a player as much information and support as they need, when they need it. And as much confidence as they need to be able to go ahead and do whatever it is they have to do. There's no right or wrong way to do it, and it's a demanding 24/7 kind of job.

Would you want to be the national coach? Or be involved in putting a coaching structure in place?
The two go hand in hand. It's difficult to take on one job without wanting to have an influence at the other. If you're coaching a national team you want to have some input into the development process. A coach lives and dies by the performance of his players, and a coach is restricted by the players he has to work with. I think world cricket really needs to re-think the role of national coaches. It's something that's evolving and a reasonably modern phenomenon. One of the things that would encourage me to take on a coaching role would be to have more input in the development process. I have some ideas on that but am not prepared to expand on them at this stage. I would be happy to sit down with the relevant administrators and talk through the process of what I think is required for the modern game of cricket. I don't feel inclined to discuss them hypothetically with relation to India, through the media.

You've said that you would be open to talking to them if the BCCI approached you. But you won't be approaching them, and you won't lose any sleep if nothing came of this ...
No it's not something that I have a need for. I don't need to coach anyone. But I enjoy working with cricket. The more talented the cricketers you work with, the more likely it is that you're going to achieve some success. But it's not necessarily the area where you can make the biggest difference. I believe the best coaches should be working with junior cricketers. I've committed through the ChappellWay program to touch as many players, coaches and parents as possible through the Internet. Just to work with 15 players is restrictive. Having said that, elite players respond better to advice than anyone else. I've really enjoyed the exchange of ideas and the quick feedback that I've got from the elite players I've worked with.