After a record run of successful chases, things suddenly started heading south for Indian cricket. A spat between Saurav Ganguly and coach Greg Chappell was blown out of proportion. And despite some of the most experienced campaigners being involved in the issue, it went from upsetting to ugly.

So much disregard can have an upsetting effect on Chappell and it must have reflected upon the environment within the team as well. Incidents of arrogance, shirking and sulking are surfacing far too frequently for comfort. The latest was Virender Sehwag not turning up for nets, telling the waiting coach that he ''didn’t feel like going''.  While all this must have been affecting the team’s performance, Ganguly was brought back and dropped. Then came Dinesh Karthik - and he was dropped too.

But we must put it all behind us and respect the coach for the good that he has done for the team. And there are quite a few positives to speak of. India’s fielding was despicable before his arrival. Chappell has also shown that winning has always been a priority. The latest example was seen in South Africa when he taught Ganguly to roll his wrists over the ball while executing the expansive offside shots that he plays through the gully. Before Ganguly would often find it hard to keep the ball down playing that shot.

Chappell has vast experience and the team can learn a lot from him. We learned that he was giving Sehwag practice in South Africa with the bowling machine set high to emulate the Proteas' bowling. Given Viru’s special hand-eye co-ordination, the plan didn’t work - but the fact remains that they were trying. The coach is helpless when the team has failed to support him. Chappell is not the usual genial type that Indian cricketers and management are used to and the harmony has been missing.

But we have run out of time. It's time we set the record straight and get back to common-sense cricket. If we get our combination right, we really can take on any team. My idea of common-sense cricket is, take each game on its merit. Plan for that game and that game only. Planning too far ahead is not gonna pay off. Don’t clutter your minds with too many things, do the things as and when required, plan and play for the win. And yes, all of the players must back each other and the coach at this stage.

With the World Cup round the corner, Sachin Tendulkar is regaining his form while Sehwag is losing it. Add to that new faces in the equation and a bowling line-up going through an entire overhauling. I think Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh should bowl together.