Greg Chappell believes that highly structured coaching dehumanizes cricket

The former Australian batting legend Greg Chapell heaped praise on the former Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, mentioning that his decision-making skills are something that has always set him apart from his contemporaries. The entire world has witnessed the worst and the best days of MS Dhoni and has praised his cricketing acumen as well. During the time of Chapell's era in Indian cricket, Dhoni's talent was recognized. The former Indian head coach Greg Chappell shared his thoughts on Dhoni's captaincy as well. He praised Dhoni's strategic skills and how he ended his cricketing career being one of the greatest.

Read also: Indian Cricket Team News: Team management in search for a left-arm pacer, desperately

Greg Chappell's thoughts on the cricket facilities of the Indian subcontinent:

Greg Chappell had a 2-year stint as the Indian head coach from 2005 to 2007. In his article in ESPNcricinfo, he wrote how the absence of natural surroundings these days is harmful. These natural environments once helped cricketers in their development. He wrote, "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."

He further added, "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."

Read also: ICC Men's ODI Cricketer of the year since 2004

Talking about Dhoni, he wrote, "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's views on England's performance in the Ashes:

Chappell believes that England faced setbacks in the Ashes due to the lack of practice in the natural environment. He said that the absence of natural environments is a disadvantage for the youngsters as they cannot express themselves properly.

The legend described, "England, on the other hand, has 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 further mentioned, "Invariably when an adult gets involved with kids playing cricket, they break up the game and kill its energy by emphasizing 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."

His thoughts on highly structured coaching systems:

When ending his article, Greg Chappell mentioned that he believes that highly structured coaching systems are not the appropriate way. "The growth in structured training in the preparation of batters has not only failed to take batting forward, but it has also actually resulted in a decline in batting. Highly structured environments, and an excessive focus on teaching players to perform "correct" technique, dehumanize cricket."