Greg Chappell laughs during his interaction with the media in Jaipur on Saturday. (PTI)

Jaipur: An informally attired Greg Chappell looked most relaxed as he took questions from the media (and, later, from The Telegraph in a brief one-on-one) on Saturday afternoon.

Barring a couple, the former Team India coach, who has returned as director of the wowing Future Cricket Academy (a Rajasthan Cricket Association venture), only answered questions related to his new role and the Academy’s tie-up with Emerging Media to launch a “nationwide hunt” for the next generation of talent.

The interaction took place before the Mahendra Singh Dhonis turned up at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium for the one-day series’ last practice session. Chappell, it appears, had left the premises by then but will be seated in the VIP area during Sunday’s Indo-Pak face-off.

The following, then, are excerpts:

I’m more interested in the future than in the past... I’ve always been one to look ahead and, today, cricket is going through an exciting phase... The only comparison I can make, from my lifetime, is the introduction of World Series (in 1977-78)… The Twenty20 game and the Indian Premier League will change the face of cricket and, so, players and coaches need to look beyond what would be taken as the norm in the past… The players are fitter and stronger than they were 30 years ago… In 20 years, they’re going to be more fitter and stronger. The demands of the game will change, which is why the identification process has to change… The ones involved with it have to be different from what they’ve been… Fear has no place among those of us working on and off the field… The ability to go beyond fear is important.

On whether his contract with the Rajasthan association is allowing him to relive the dream he had for Indian cricket

This has nothing to do with the past… This is about what’s happening now and what will happen in the future… It’s an opportunity I’m very excited about… India happens to be the epicentre of cricket financially… I believe, in the future, it’s going to be the epicentre of cricket on the field as well. World cricket needs India to be strong in all ways… The game is, after all, facing challenges… Test cricket is struggling, Twenty20 has just begun… The game requires leadership and vision and skill…

On whether he can give an example from the present Indian team of who the cricketer of the future will look like

I’d rather not give an example from the present team because it’s possible it could be taken out of context… The best examples are players like (Matthew) Hayden, (Adam) Gilchrist, (Ricky) Ponting, (Andrew) Symonds, (Andrew) Flintoff… Also Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralidharan… The ones who are athletic, strong… Impact-players… Aggressive batsmen, aggressive bowlers, outstanding fielders, good runners between wickets… Very strong mentally… The player of the future has to be outstanding… As the game gets shorter, you’ve got to be an impact-player… Got to be the one able to impose yourself on the game.

On the time needed to develop the player of the future

The important thing is to start with the vision of what you’re looking for… We’ve got to look at athletes who play cricket… They’ve got to take responsibility and be accountable… Between 18 months and two years could be the time taken… It’s a guess.

On the introduction of an army-inspired obstacle course as part of the training at the Academy

It’s simple, flexible and easily replicated… The existing development programmes in cricket are very expensive, while we’ve looked at something that’s cost effective. (Head coach) Ian Fraser and I looked at a number of areas, with the army being one of them, to establish the best training methods… I don’t agree that there aren’t any athletes in India… Look at the army, for example, it’s peopled by athletes… An obstacle course is a simple way of training them… Indeed, training on such courses gives flexibility and much more.

On having worn different hats in India

Perhaps, one needed the other experience (of coaching Team India) to appreciate the requirements of the cricketer of the future… It gave an insight into what international cricket is all about today… This role (director of the Academy) gives an opportunity to look ahead, to look at where the game could be five years from now.

On whether the trainees get overawed on interacting with him

(Grins) Well, to start with, they aren’t sure of what to expect… Soon enough, though, things settle down.

On whether the ones coming from remote areas find language to be a barrier

We do have local coaches, so there’s no problem in communicating.

On whether the introduction of Twenty20 has made it tougher on the players

Because of the format, yes, the demands are greater… The players have to be more flexible mentally and physically than ever before… They’ve got to adapt more and that’s going to take a lot of skills… So far, the best players have been mentally very strong and that’s not going to change… It’s an exciting period and I feel today’s cricketers are better prepared for Twenty20 than our generation was for one-day cricket… Then, it was a big jump from five-day to 60/50 overs cricket… Of course, I’d hate to think we’ve just given up on Test cricket… It still has an important part to play and the game will be poorer if there’s no Test cricket. It would be a shame and it would be unwise to turn our backs on Test cricket. The challenge for the administrators and the players is to have space for all three forms.

On whether Twenty20 is all about entertainment alone

There’s quite a bit of cricket in the Twenty20 format and the more skilled players are the ones who’ll be good at it. Twenty20 has just as much to offer as limited overs cricket did almost 40 years ago… The shorter the version, the more it will be for the younger players.

Finally, on why excerpts from the controversial documentary, Guru Greg, are being made public now

Because it has just been completed... I have no control over what is being (leaked)…