Sachin Tendulkar Autobiography: Chappell Hits Back at Sachin's Claims, Insists He Never Wanted to Oust Dravid as Captain

When you make such explosive claims as Sachin Tendulkar did in his autobiography, a reaction is inevitable, especially from the accused party.

Tendulkar, in his autobiography "Playing it My Way" which will be released in a couple of days revealed Greg Chappell had come to his house to ask him to take over from Rahul Dravid as captain, during the Australian's stint as India coach between 2005-07, so that they could "control Indian cricket for years

"Just months before the [2007] World Cup, Chappell had come to see me at home and, to my dismay, suggested that I should take over the captaincy from Rahul Dravid," Tendulkar said.

"Anjali [Sachin's wife], who was sitting with me, was equally shocked to hear him say that 'together, we could control Indian cricket for years', and that he would help me in taking over the reins of the side.

"I was surprised to hear the coach not showing the slightest amount of respect for the captain, with cricket's biggest tournament just months away. He stayed for a couple of hours, trying to convince me, before finally leaving."

Chappell, not one to keep quiet, hit back, insisting the claims were untrue.

"Sachin's claims are untrue," the former India coach told in an Exclusive interview to Times Now. "I never wanted Dravid to be replaced by Sachin as captain of the India team.

"During my time as India coach I never contemplated Sachin replacing Dravid as captain.

"The only time I visited Sachin's house was with the assistant coach and physio during Sachin's rehabilitation."

Chappell endured a highly tumultuous spell as India coach, with the Australian having issues with pretty much all the senior players in the team, especially Sourav Ganguly.