Fearless Ian Chappell brings illustrious association with cricket to an end

Failure in major tournaments often leads to retirements from captaincy, a particular format of cricket or from international cricket altogether. The 2025 Champions Trophy has proved to be no exception.

In the wake of England’s failure to reach the semi-finals its captain, Jos Buttler, has resigned as white ball captain, two years after lifting the T20 World Cup in November 2022. Australia’s defeat at the semi-final stage led Steve Smith to announce his retirement from the ODI format. It is too early to know if any of India’s stalwarts will make similar judgements after Sunday’s Champions Trophy final against New Zealand in Dubai.

Alongside these announcements, the one that really caught my eye was from a former player turned commentator and journalist. Ian Chappell captained Australia between 1971 and 1975, retiring from all first class cricket a year later. However, in 1977, he was lured out of this by Kerry Packer, who established World Series Cricket as a competitor to cricket played under cricket’s establishment. This appealed to Chappell’s support of the fight to increase players’ remuneration and his irreverent attitude toward administrators and the establishment in general.

He moulded an Australian team between 1971 and 1975 very much in his own image. As an attacking No. 3 batter, Chappell was never afraid to take the bowlers head on and he encouraged his players in the practice of “sledging,” or verbally abusing, players from opposing sides. A win-at-all-costs approach earned the team the sobriquet of “ugly Aussies,” during a series against New Zealand. Chappell was loyal to his players and they returned this in abundance.

On his return to captaincy in the WSC, Chappell needed these attributes to counter