Coach timing all wrong, say seniors

[Online]

The Indian cricket board's decision to appoint former South Africa opener Gary Kirsten as the new team coach hasn't gone down well with the senior players, Mumbai Mirror has learnt. It is likely, sources say, that the team will make a case against getting a coach at this juncture to the BCCI during the Kolkata test that starts on Friday. "There was absolutely no need for a coach at this moment. We're happy with the current support staff (Lalchand Rajput, Venkatesh Prasad and Robin Singh). We have a high comfort level with them and in any case this being our last tour of Australia, we don't need someone to motivate us or tell us what we're supposed to do," said a senior player, not willing to be named for obvious reasons. The senior players' tirade comes not because they have a problem with Kirsten per se but because they feel that since the team is gelling well as a unit, bringing someone at the helm of affairs days ahead of the crucial tour of Australia will prove counter-productive. "We have an issue with the timing of his appointment. Gary undoubtedly was a good player but when a new coach takes over it takes time for a team to warm up to him. He'll come with his set of ideas which may, or may not be in sync with us. And Australia isn't the right place for all that to happen. Ideally, they should have appointed him after the tour of Australia when the South Africans are here for a full Test tour," added another senior. The Board of Control for Cricket in India confirmed yesterday that the 40-year-old from Cape Town is in line to take over the post lying vacant since Greg Chappell's unceremonious departure after the World Cup fiasco. The Board had appointed a seven-member selection committee, headed by its president Sharad Pawar and including three former captains Sunil Gavaskar, S Venkataraghavan and Ravi Shastri to hand-pick Chappell's successor. However, their earlier efforts to get Graham Ford on board proved futile as the South African developed cold feet after agreeing in principle. Since then the BCCI has followed a policy of appointing Cricket Managers apart from the two specialist coaches Prasad (bowling) and Robin (fielding) even as it cast its net wider (at least on paper) to get a full-time coach for the team. Once bitten by the Ford drama that left them with eggs on their faces the BCCI went about things covertly to avoid the media's attention and all queries regarding the coach were dismissed with disdain. "Even Niranjan Shah, who is one of the seven members of the high-profile committee was kept in the dark about the meeting and so were the senior players. Prof Ratnakar Shetty called Anil Kumble and he was asked to proceed to BCCI president Sharad Pawar's home at 6, Janpath and then introduced to Kirsten," a source close to the team revealed. "The players have discussed the issue with each other over the phone as all of them haven't reached Kolkata but once they meet they are likely to make their case with the BCCI," he added. http://www.mumbaimirror.com/net/mmpaper.aspx?page=article&sectid=15&contentid=200711282007112803125135968f6157

[fineleg]

Drama in Indian cricket. :thumbs_up:

[siddhu]

naah... i smell a rat. doesn't sound like any senior player and it could be just some writer with wild imagination....

[Lurker]

Naatak chaaloo. Basically what the seniors mean is this - Get these coaches with new ideas after I retire. Let me play the game on my own terms. The search of coach was going on for a year or more now, why did it come as a surprise to the senior players?

[Ram]

I dont even read such articles anymore.

[praveenj]

Naatak chaaloo. Basically what the seniors mean is this - Get these coaches with new ideas after I retire. Let me play the game on my own terms. The search of coach was going on for a year or more now, why did it come as a surprise to the senior players?

They probably might have thought that the new coach would be appointed only after the tenure of VP and other mgmt guys around. That's a good point from them as well, isn't that? they wouldn't want indecisive thinking to prevail in dressing room.... Wrong time, as mentioned by them is amidst a series...

[Chandan]

They probably might have thought that the new coach would be appointed only after the tenure of VP and other mgmt guys around. That's a good point from them as well, isn't that? they wouldn't want indecisive thinking to prevail in dressing room.... Wrong time, as mentioned by them is amidst a series...

I agree. What'll the coach contribute when he joins the team during a high pressure series and has no idea about the players, their preparations, their ideas etc. Obviously the players won't land in Australia waiting for Kirsten to formulate a strategy for them at that time? They'll be keyed up to the tour with their own strategies and then the arrival of a new person might destabilise the team and take the focus away. So timing is indeed wrong. If BCCI was negotiating with Kirsten, they could have called him before the Pak test series started so that he had one full series to know about the players and then sit with them during the preparation for the tour down-under! And which senior player is going to retire after Australia series anyway? None, I'd say! I don't know if any of the players even said this because Mumbai Mirror is basically a gossip news site. But I feel that the timing is indeed wrong!

[bharat297]

Yeah its a risk to do such a thing (bring a coach in now) but going by Gary Kirsten's interview it seems like he is not that type of coach ... hopefully he will act more as a helping hand during this series and after it start to put forth his ideas. Also, the other positive is that he is a batting specialist, meaning we have 1 batting, bowling and fielding coach each which is always good. Also, knowing how important Kumble is to our chances down under, having someone there to take the pressure off Kumble is important too. However, we'll have to wait and see ... I misjudged Chappell 2 years ago (and the impact he would have on the team) so I really dont know anymore.

[Chandan]

Bharat, Had you thought Chappell to be helpful to the team or contrary to that?

[bharat297]

^ Well I thought he would be helpful ... I thought he would help the team in terms of the technical side of the game, rather than look to change the whole culture and structure of the team.

[Keep-It-Cool]

So, what would be a good time? india play SA a week after they come back from Aus and then move on to the IPL, followed by the Asia Cup and more tours. In fact, the gap between the second and third tests in Aus is the longer than any gap between two series for the whole of 2008 - as per the current ICC schedule

[Chandan]

So' date= what would be a good time? india play SA a week after they come back from Aus and then move on to the IPL, followed by the Asia Cup and more tours. In fact, the gap between the second and third tests in Aus is the longer than any gap between two series for the whole of 2008 - as per the current ICC schedule

You are asking me? The best time was right after Bangladesh series--BCCI failed! Then during England ODI series--BCCI failed! Then before T20 comp--BCCI failed! Just before the ODI series vs Aus--Another BCCI failure Just before Pak ODI series--again BCCI failed Before the test series vs Pak--again BCCI failed. Now they have to call the coach as early as the start of Kolkata test and if BCCI fails again,then Before the ODI series in Australia begin and NOT DURING the test series vs Australia.

^ Well I thought he would be helpful ... I thought he would help the team in terms of the technical side of the game' date=' rather than look to change the whole culture and structure of the team.[/quote'] I had thought that too. In fact I was a member of Chappell-Way much before he was appointed the coach for India and was really impressed by his ideas. But after those two years, came to know that having ideas is one thing and successfully executing them is totally another thing! And after the WC I was really annoyed at his allegations over the players. It seemed as if he was not accepting his mistake at all and was keen to pass all the buck to players! Very disappointing! I hope Kirsten is different.

[PaiN_KiLLeR]

I agree. What'll the coach contribute when he joins the team during a high pressure series and has no idea about the players, their preparations, their ideas etc. Obviously the players won't land in Australia waiting for Kirsten to formulate a strategy for them at that time? They'll be keyed up to the tour with their own strategies and then the arrival of a new person might destabilise the team and take the focus away. So timing is indeed wrong. If BCCI was negotiating with Kirsten, they could have called him before the Pak test series started so that he had one full series to know about the players and then sit with them during the preparation for the tour down-under! And which senior player is going to retire after Australia series anyway? None, I'd say! I don't know if any of the players even said this because Mumbai Mirror is basically a gossip news site. But I feel that the timing is indeed wrong!

Well said.

[Keep-It-Cool]

You are asking me? Now they have to call the coach as early as the start of Kolkata test and if BCCI fails again,then Before the ODI series in Australia begin and NOT DURING the test series vs Australia.

It was not addressed to anyone in particular, but anyway ... But the former would also mean a coach joining DURING a test series, wouldnt it?

[guju24]

but still appointing coach before a series against aus is not a good choice...this will be first time gary working with indian team...by the time he totally get in to the team..india would have raped by ausies big time...so i think BCCI should have keep it same as they did for past series and team has done tremendous work so i guess it wasnt rite decision from BCCI...

[The Outsider]

The search of coach was going on for a year or more now, why did it come as a surprise to the senior players?

:hysterical: You really do lose all sense of perspective when discussing the "seniors", don't you? Tell me one major cricket country who gives a selected coach and appointment date mid way during one of most important test series that the team will play.

[Anakin]

:hysterical: You really do lose all sense of perspective when discussing the "seniors", don't you? Tell me one major cricket country who gives a selected coach and appointment date mid way during one of most important test series that the team will play.

Doesn't matter. All seniors, sans RD I'd guess, are mafia godfathers, doing dirty things to keep their places in the team. Imagine Uthappa, how better he'd be than SRT or SCG :hysterical::hysterical::hysterical::hysterical:

[Cricketics]

offcourse i agree.. coach time is all wrong.. middle of the series news, Indian team dominating and this news arrives that coach has been appointed.. wat da heck..

[Lurker]

You really do lose all sense of perspective when discussing the "seniors", don't you?

Ah yes, the age old idiocy of attacking a poster and not the ideas. Foolish? Yes. Unexpected? Hardly.

Tell me one major cricket country who gives a selected coach and appointment date mid way during one of most important test series that the team will play.

lol. You are one quality tool, arent you Shwetabh? You NEVER seem to answer why India should/ should not do it. Your answers are always based on "Look this is what Steve Waugh did, made Gillespie a better bat" etc. So lets pick on that now, shall we? Since you are worried about "one major country", could you possibly enlighten me on which "major country" is currently functioning WITHOUT a coach?? Lets start with your favorite Australia. Does the name Tim Nielsen ring a bell? Lets move on to South Africa now.Does Mickey Arthur make any sense to you? Look across the border and you shall see Geoff Lawson too. Couple of questions then: 1) Which major country, barring India, is currently functioning WITHOUT a coach? 2) If India has to have a coach what is the best time to do this? xxxx

[beetle]

Why doesn't BCCI take up selling potatoes and onions......? it's not like they care about Indian cricket