Gregory Stephen Chappell, MBE (born 7 August 1948 in Unley, South Australia) is a former cricketer who captained Australia between 1975 and 1977 and then joined the breakaway World Series Cricket (WSC) organisation, before returning to the Australian captaincy in 1979, which he held until his retirement in 1983.[1] The second of three brothers to play Test cricket, Chappell was the pre-eminent Australian batsman of his time who allied elegant stroke making to fierce concentration.[2] An exceptional all round player who bowled medium pace and, at his retirement, held the world record for the most catches in Test cricket,[3] Chappell's career straddled two eras as the game moved toward a greater level of professionalism after the WSC schism.[4] Since his retirement as a player in 1984, Chappell has pursued various business and media interests as well as maintaining connections to professional cricket; he has been a selector for national and Queensland teams, a member of the Australian Cricket Board, and a coach. He was appointed coach of the India national cricket team on a 2 year contract in 2005. However, a series of controversies and personality clashes, combined with India's poor performance at the 2007 Cricket World Cup led to his resignation from the position on 4 April 2007.[5][6] In addition to being a world-renowned cricketer, Chappell is a vegan who has published two books regarding this issue [6].
