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Greg Chappell, the coach to the Team India, asked the fans to have faith on the players and said that losing a few matches did not mean the team is not good any more. So, accepting some ups and downs, he claimed, people should have faith on the players. In an interview to the official website of ICC Cricket World Cup 2007, this former Australian cricketer talked about the team and their performances.

I am quoting from the interview:

Q: How worried are you about India's chances in the ICC Cricket World Cup after a spate of losses?
A: I'm not losing too much sleep over it. The ICC Cricket World Cup is a few months away and we will concentrate on the immediate challenges ahead. Of course, winning the ICC Cricket World Cup is the ultimate goal, but we have to do well all along the road leading up to the tournament.

Q: India failed in the ICC Champions Trophy 2006. Does that set the alarm bells ringing?
A: No, not at all. Look, just because the team doesn't do well in a few tournaments doesn't mean it is the worst. Similarly, just because the team performs exceptionally well in a few tournaments doesn't mean it is the best. We beat Sri Lanka and Pakistan convincingly, and we were not the best in the world. Now, after a few losses, we are not the worst.

Q: Quite a few believe that Indians don't have anything settled at the moment because of the experiments that you have carried out…
A: People will always have their opinion. We will do our job to the best of our abilities. There are bound to be a few failures and there will be criticism. However, the players, myself, the support staff and the Board members are on the same wavelength.

Q: Quite a few young players are looking out of sorts… Irfan Pathan, Suresh Raina and many others seem to have gone into their shell…
A: Critics have to be careful. Poor Suresh Raina is so affected by constant criticism that he is no longer the free-flowing batsman that he was in Pakistan. Once again, I will say that have faith in these boys.

Q: What are the criteria for selection?
A: Anyone who performs will get a chance. Those who don't perform will not be there. As simple as that.

For Greg Chappell, too much is at stake in World Cup Cricket 2007. If Team India does not make into the semi-final at least then it may be the end of Greg Chappell as the coach of Indian cricket team. It is true that India has some talented players but Greg Chappell spent too much of his time and attention to keep Ganguly out of the team in the last part of 2005 and first part of 2006. Let us see if that proves to be very expensive.