After Australia beat India in the final of the ODI World Cup 2023, many discussed about sporting culture in Australia. However, sporting culture plays a key role and it can handle high-pressure moments and register a victory. Speaking of the same, former India pacer Irfan Pathan added that having a celebrity culture in India has not helped the team as well. However, Pathan’s statement is directed towards India’s Head Coach Rahul Dravid to manage the star players like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. He also gave the example of former India coach, Greg Chappell who arrived with this mindset.

“Australia does not have a celebrity culture. Fortunately or unfortunately we have that. Ideally, I would want to have a nice balance between Australian and Indian cultures where we come in between. Sometimes having that kind of culture does not help us. At the same time, we are what we are. We are not Australians, we are Indians. Our emotions are different. Our ethics are different, our mindset is different,” Pathan was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

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However, Greg Chappell was the Indian team’s coach in 2007. While his coaching brought several changes in the national team’s setup, There was a difference of opinion between him and the then-captain, Sourav Ganguly as well. As a result, India were out of the 2007 World Cup in the league stage. Irfan Pathan added that the Australian’s aggressive mindset did not help the team as there were no questions raised about his intent as well.

“When Greg Chappell came in, his intention was pure, his intention was to take Indian cricket to a high. He wanted everyone to be treated equally and he wanted everyone to work in the same way which was for the Indian team, but his way was proper Australian, which did not work in India. His intentions were never a question,” he concluded.