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Former India cricket coach Greg Chappell says despite media speculation to the contrary, he has no secret information to pass on about the Indian team in his new role as Australia's technical adviser.
"There's nothing called secrets in cricket. I've got no sensitive information on the Indian team," Chappell said yesterday. "Both teams have a lot of footage of each player."
Chappell, a former Australian test captain, quit as India coach last year after the team's first-round exit at the World Cup.
He has returned to India with the touring Australian team ahead of the four-test series starting October 9, and Indian media are saying he might use his knowledge of the local side to help his new employers.
"Cricket is a game where knowledge is shared," he said. "England set up a cricket academy in Australia and they trained under Rod Marsh ahead of an Ashes series."
Australian teams have often encountered difficulty against India in the sub-continent, before winning the 2004 series 2-1 after a gap of over three decades.
By bringing the Australian team to the northern Indian city of Jaipur for a week-long camp ahead of this series, Chappell has caused some ripples in India's cricket fraternity.
"I would not say that India have lost their home advantage just because we've come here to acclimatise, India still have that advantage."
Chappell said the Australian team had been trying to analyse ways of combating the Indian spinners on pitches that suited slow bowling.
"We've been discussing a lot about India's spinners, who historically have been very successful on home pitches.
"But you can't ignore the pace bowlers, there's always a risk period during the match when the ball takes reverse swing," he said. "Combating such situations is equally challenging."
Chappell said Australia were going through a transition after several senior players had retired.
"We're rebuilding our team and we have to put the basics together for eventual success. Test cricket is hard work and nothing but hard work will make you successful."
Australia captain Ricky Ponting will play a big part in his team's fortunes in India, where he has struggled to find form in previous series, Chappell said.
"Ponting's not made many runs in India and he knows about it. He also knows that he has a big role to play and score lots of runs."
