Ian Chappell says sacking of four players for disciplinary breach could harm Oz cricket
Sydney, Mar 12 : Former captain Ian Chappell has claimed the sacking of four Australian cricketers for disciplinary breach for the third Test against India in Mohali could damage the team spirit of the team.
Chappell, one of the most respected voices in the game and a man with more than 40 years involvement at the highest levels, said he couldn't remember anything like this in Australian cricket, News.com.au reports.
The national team was plunged into crisis when Shane Watson, Mitchell Johnson, James Pattinson and Usman Khawaja were stood down from selection for failing to take part in a peer review of Australia's dismal second Test loss in Hyderabad.
Watson has since quit the tour to be with his wife, who is due to have a baby, and coach Mickey Arthur and captain Michael Clarke defended the decision, saying a series of minor breaches in recent months had snowballed to produce the overnight outcome.
However, Chappell was left stunned by the extraordinary mass suspensions, which he believes could have a detrimental impact on team spirit with an Ashes campaign in England on the horizon.
Chappell said he must confess that he is bit surprised, and he can't believe that it's purely for the reasons given, adding you would hope there is more to it than that.
Chappell added it is surprising and if it's team spirit they are trying to build then he is not sure this is the right way to go about it, adding he can't imagine how it is going to help the morale of the team, particularly the loss of Watson and Pattinson.
The former captain said he is not convinced that you can put everybody into the same little box and get everybody to behave the same way.