Ian Chappell calls time on his commentary career

Chappell is known for his bold statements

Former Australian skipper Ian Chappell has officially decided to retire from commentary after more than a four-decade-long commentating career.

Chappell is considered one of the Australian greats, having 5345 Test runs, including 14 centuries, to his name in 75 appearances. The former Australian captain also played 16 ODIs, scoring 673 runs at an average of 48.07. 

After bidding adieu to all forms of the game in 1980, Chappell pursued a lucrative career in commentary and sports journalism. He then joined Cricket 9 as a commentator in the 1980-81 season and also worked for the ABC as a sports journalist and commentator.

Chappell was hailed for his fearless batsmanship

The 78-year-old recently grabbed eyeballs for his take on T20 leagues' negative impact on Test cricket. Chappell was quoted by Wide World of Sports saying that Test cricket will not die in his lifetime, but surely the growing popularity of T20 leagues will affect its stature. 

Kerry wanted to sack me from my duties: Chappell

The prominent commentator shed light on his early commentary days, stating that his career almost came to an end before getting started due to the mood swings of media tycoon Kerry Packer. 

“I remember the day when I knew I’d had enough of playing cricket, I looked at the clock and it was five past 11 on a day of play and I thought, ‘S***, if you’re clock-watching at that time, I have to go. Kerry wanted to sack me a couple of times. He used to get the shits about one-day cricket because that was his baby … With Kerry, it was just like a storm, you’d let it blow over till the next one came."

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