In his new book The Future of Cricket: The Rise of Twenty20, Buchanan has taken potshots at not only at Sachin Tendulkar and former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar, but at many other current and former players.
Buchan writes that Sachin Tendulkar is not a player who can dominate in a Twenty20 match. He believes Tendulkar is no longer good enough for the Twenty20 format and has come out with sensational remarks on the batting maestro and his usefulness in cricket’s shortest version.
"History will remember him as a cricketing master. But is he an effective T20 player at this stage of his career? In the position he plays, as an opener or No 3, the T20 game requires not only the finesse and skill he has, but also power and domination... an ability to take the bowlers on while being creative. You have to be inventive, fearless. And I don't see those qualities as part of Sachin's make-up at this stage of his career. Sachin Tendulkar is still a great player, but not in this arena of T20," writes Buchanan.
The legendary Gavaskar has been referred to be 'blinkered by bias and tradition' and Yuvraj Singh, too, has come in for some harsh criticism.
"Yuvraj Singh in a sense tries to be a modern-day Ganguly, but I don't think he has the charisma or the dignity with which Ganguly carries himself," Buchanan writes in his book.
Buchanan has also slammed Harbhajan Singh, Kevin Pietersen and Shoaib Akhtar though he surprisingly holds high praise for Ganguly.
In one chapter of the book, Buchanan even compares Ganguly to former Australian skipper Ian Chappell.
"Harbhajan is good at dishing out treatment, lighting the fire and then finding an appropriate means to camouflage his actions," writes the former Australian coach.
Writing about the Andrew Symonds-Harbhajan Singh incident, Buchanan says that "Harbhajan dished it out, but when it came to his turn... he was not able to receive it back so well."
He has also blamed Bangalore Royal Challengers owner Vijay Mallya for nopt giving enough freedom to his players and caches.
"Vijay Mallya didn't allow the players to play and the coaches to coach, which is why he employed them in the first place," he says.
However, speaking to CNN-IBN, Buchanan defends himself saying his book offers an insight into the world of cricket and asks his detractors to read it before commenting.
"Once you read the book you will see I am extremely supportive of what India is doing and how they are going about their cricket. At the same stage there are certain individuals I suppose within that, that draw my attention as there are individuals from other countries that draw my attention in the book and I am quite happy to try and expand my thoughts about those people and provide some insights to them. I think its important to put the questions in context. It's important to do that. Hopefully you get a chance to read the book and others do so as well," says Buchanan when asked about his criticism of players like Gavaskar.
"I was very excited to be in the IPL in 2008. It was a real challenge... something out far from what I was used to in 20-over cricket. Working in a franchise format with a range of different people in so far as players from all around the world was concerned... in terms of the mercenary approach, from a coaching and support staff perspective, there was no mercenary approach. I enjoyed the experience in South Africa. We didn't necessarily get the result we wanted but the experience with IPL is definitely something to be a part of," he adds.
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