Chappell says he was victim of racist attack

Mumbai: Greg Chappell, who capped off a volatile two-year stint with the Indian cricket team, has hit out at the Indian Cricket Board for sidestepping the issue of breach of security at Orissa’s Bhubaneswar Airport.

The incident occurred close to a One-Day game against West Indies in January this year. A worker of a regional political outfit got past the police cordon at the Biju Patnaik Airport and hit Chappell on the back.

"I got hit on the side of the head and my immediate reaction was 'he's broken my jaw'," Chappell was quoted as saying.

Further he said, "This bloke came in from behind and gave me a whack in the right ear. Luckily he yelled out as he was leaping through the air to punch me and gave me enough warning to pull away a little bit.

"It was still a fairly solid blow. My legs buckled, but I had a briefcase on wheels with a long handle and I was able to use it as support to stop me from going down."

He has accused the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for covering up the "serious assault." In a certain documentary, he has categorically stated that he was a victim of racist attack.

In an interview to The Australian, Chappell took a dig at the establishment that runs Indian cricket: "As I said to the BCCI in a letter, had it been one of the players who was attacked there would have been an outcry, but because it was me no-one seemed to care. The reply came back talking about my racist comments.”

"There was a cover-up," he said, "everyone went into cover-up mode. It was a serious assault. It wasn't just a push in the back as the media was led to believe. The whole thing was played down. The only phone call I got from the BCCI asked me whether it really happened."

The accused had justified his action saying that he was frustrated at the step-motherly treatment meted out to players from Orissa.

Chappell though is not convinced. He remarked, "Indians are very quick to complain about racism. There are plenty of Indian cricketers the guy could have attacked but he chose to attack me."

He said that he could have discontinued his association with the country but decided otherwise since he had committed to be there for Indian cricket during that period.

Talking to CNN-IBN, Chappell though choose to play down the whole incident, saying that it's an old news now.

"One has to keep in mind that those were really emotional times at that point and I feel very differently about that incident now. It was a very long time ago. I moved on and I am sure everyone else has also moved on. So, it is an old news.

Chappell is back in India as a coach of the Rajasthan Cricket Academy and it seems it is a love-hate relationship that he shares with this country.

"The times I have had here was very enjoyable and rewarding. But like everybody else you have times everyone else in your working life but over the time we - me and my wife were here, we were very warmly welcomed by our friends and others in India. And most of the people have been very generous to us," said the former India coach.

He further admitted to CNN-IBN that he did claim to be a victim of a racist attack in Bhubaneswar but clarified that he has put the incident behind him.

"That incident is well behind. And I prefer to be talking about the future of the cricket academy. I am looking forward to working here and be involved in the next 3 years," said Chappell.

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