Dhoni is one of the sharpest cricket minds I have encountered: Greg Chappell

Chappell,
who
had
a
tumultuous
two-year
tenure
as
India’s
chief
coach
from
2005
to
2007,
had
often
spoken
highly
of
the
two-time
World
Cup-winning
captain
who
ended
his
glorious
career
as
one
of
the
country’s
greatest
players.
The
Australian
cited
the
example
of
Dhoni
while
lamenting
the
absence
of
natural
environments
that
once
played
a
huge
part
in
the
development
of
players
in
strong
cricket
nations.

“The
developed
cricket
countries
have
lost
the
natural
environments
that
were
a
big
part
of
their
development
structure
in
bygone
eras.
In
those
environments,
young
cricketers
learned
from
watching
good
players
and
then
emulating
them
in
pick-up
matches
with
family
and
friends,”
Chappell
wrote
in
ESPNcricinfo.

“The
Indian
subcontinent
still
has
many
towns
where
coaching
facilities
are
rare
and
youngsters
play
in
streets
and
on
vacant
land
without
the
interference
of
formal
coaching.
This
is
where
many
of
their
current
stars
have
learned
the
game.”
One
of
them
is
Dhoni,
who
came
from
the
town
of
Ranchi
in
Jharkhand.

“MS
Dhoni,
with
whom
I
worked
in
India,
is
a
good
example
of
a
batter
who
developed
his
talent
and
learned
to
play
in
this
fashion.

“By
competing
against
more
experienced
individuals
on
a
variety
of
surfaces
early
in
his
development,
Dhoni
developed
the
decision-making
and
strategic
skills
that
have
set
him
apart
from
many
of
his
peers.
His
is
one
of
the
sharpest
cricket
minds
I
have
encountered,”
Chappell
said.

Beginning
his
career
under
Sourav
Ganguly
and
John
Wright,
Dhoni
began
flourishing
in
the
Rahul
Dravid-Greg
Chappell
era,
his
explosive
knock
of
183
not
out
in
an
ODI
against
Sri
Lanka
being
of
the
highlights.

Former
Australia
batter
Chappell
is
of
the
opinion
that
coaches
need
to
create
environments
where
players
can
learn
problem-solving
and
decision-making
on
their
own.

Noting
England’s
struggles
in
the
recently-concluded
Ashes,
Chappell
said
the
problem
is
with
the
absence
of
natural
environments
for
the
youngsters
to
express
themselves.

“England,
on
the
other
hand,
have
very
few
of
these
natural
environments
and
their
players
are
produced
in
a
narrow
band
of
public
schools,
with
an
emphasis
on
the
coaching
manual.
This
is
why
their
batting
has
lost
much
of
its
flair
and
resilience.

“The
games
that
young
people
make
up
and
play
are
dynamic
and
foster
creativity,
joy,
flexibility
in
technical
execution,
tactical
understanding
and
decision-making,
which
are
often
missing
in
batting
at
the
highest
levels.”
He
added,
“Invariably,
when
an
adult
gets
involved
with
kids
playing
cricket,
they
break
up
the
game
and
kill
its
energy
by
emphasising
correct
technique.

“This
reduces
a
dynamic,
engaging
environment
that
promotes
learning
to
a
flat
and
lifeless
set
of
drills
that
do
little
to
improve
batting
in
games.”
Chappell
said
having
highly
structured
settings
is
not
the
right
way
to
go.

“The
growth
in
structured
training
in
the
preparation
of
batters
has
not
only
failed
to
take
batting
forward,
it
has
actually
resulted
in
a
decline
in
batting.
Highly
structured
environments,
and
an
excessive
focus
on
teaching
players
to
perform
“correct”
technique,
dehumanise
cricket.”