"Just months before the World Cup, Chappell had come to see me at home and, to my dismay, suggested that I should take over the captaincy from Rahul Dravid," Tendulkar writes in his autobiography 'Playing It My Way' which is to be released in three days time (November 6).
“Anjali [Tendulkar's wife], who was sitting with me, was equally shocked to hear him (Chappell) say that 'together, we could control Indian cricket for years', and that he would help me in taking over the reins of the side.
"I was surprised to hear the coach not showing the slightest amount of respect for the captain, with cricket's biggest tournament just months away. He stayed for a couple of hours, trying to convince me, before finally leaving,” he added.
The report further informs that the 'master blaster' was very critical of the Australian, calling him as a "ringmaster who imposed his ideas on the players without showing any signs of being concerned about whether they felt comfortable or not".
Notably, Chappell was constantly linked with controversies during his period as Indian coach. From dropping Sourav Ganguly and asking Tendulkar to bat in the middle order in ODIs the Australian forcefully imposed his strategies on the team.
Also, India was thrown out of the World Cup held in the Caribbean in the group stages itself. The highest run scorer in international cricket also reveals that he was against Chappell travelling with the team for the global competition.
"I suggested to the BCCI that the best option would be to keep Greg back in India and not send him with the team to the World Cup. That is not what happened, of course, and the 2007 campaign ended in disaster," Tendulkar recalls.
Dravid not concerned with Chappell's remarks
The report also quotes Dravid responding to his teammate's revelation that he was not disappointed over a "private conversation between two people" more than seven years ago.
"I haven't really read the excerpt. I don't have a comment to make, because it's a private conversation between two people, and I am not privy to it.
"I had no idea about the conversation. I haven't heard about it before. It's been a long time since the (2007) World Cup, so it's not something that disappoints me. I really don't have any thoughts on it," Dravid said.
Well, considering how much this gentleman respects his teammates as well as his counterparts, it is not surprising to hear such words from the legendary batsman.
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