Recommended by previous and arguably India's best coach till date Gary Kirsten, Fletcher was supposed to carry forward the impeccable work that Gary did over his course of two years. But to everyone's surprise, the term started with a 0-4 Test mauling in England, resulting in India being dethroned as the no 1 Test side. Many thought this was just a bad series but then the team suffered another 0-4 blow from a rebuilding Australian team. Eight overseas losses on a trot and one began to wonder if he is a shadow of his contentious professional self.
Fletcher is known for his amazing in-depth knowledge about the game, so much that he is termed as a 'Tactician'. A tactician who literally pulled the three lions out of the grave and made them sit on a throne but is not able to set the tone correctly with team India. Home series wins against the West Indies and New Zealand were low profile and couldn't be compared with the humiliation suffered in England and Australia. Clearly, the results column needs a star.
It is at times, poignant to see a once Team India lose the momentum they had when Kirsten was incharge. Nothing could have been more perfectly in place. Fletcher, considered to be one of the pioneers in the coaching department is still failing to make it count just 5 months before his contract expires. A two year contract assigned to him by the richest board in the world has seen more calamicious defeats than some frivolous victories. If the 8 straight overseas losses weren't a sighter, the debacle of Asia Cup and World T20 followed.
According to an interview given to Cricinfo by former England skipper Nasser Hussain, he wondered how challenging it would be for Fletcher to probably go against a few crucial decissions and make a few that would annoy certain people. Clearly, this refers to a stubbornness in him which didn't follow the directions from the authoritative body, took bold decissions and worked things his way. It was shocking to see Hussain put in words of praise for someone not from his own country mind you. Hussain further added, 'If he said he was going to do something, he did it. The BCCI, on the other hand is famous for putting provisions on its major positions, especially the coaches. So In India, it is basically not about what the coach wants to do, it is about how much they allow Fletcher to do things his own way.
One remembers the 'middle finger' incident by Greg Chappell which created havoc in the entire nation. So the step was taken by BCCI to allow the amount of leverage on their own terms. Even in Kirsten's case, he would not be allowed to speak to the media until permitted.
The role of a coach is not just limited to practicing with the players, spend hours on the training ground and discussions with individual players. It includes his overall involvement in the matters of utmost importance. Dhoni and Fletcher's rapport is good if not admirable. Both set the feet on the respective pedals of the boat called Team India. However, it not known how much of a say Fletcher has in the team selection. Considering the fire Dhoni has been under over the years due to his selecting the team, Fletcher's say is definitely a requirement. According to what it seems, the on-field actions are taken care by Dhoni and out of it, Fletcher handles the proceedings. Clearly, the role of a coach if not with the bat and ball, is a key component of progress. This backward role of coaches in the selection procedures wont do any good.
In a cricket frenzy nation like India, the impact of Media cannot be determined. I remember the year 2005 when Sourav Ganguly and John Wright were incharge and the latter's contract was coming to an end. Greg Chappel was appointed as India's coach and thus the Chappel 'misdirection' caught the groove. Once the mail sent to the BCCI by Chappel was leaked, Ganguly was not just axed as the captain, but even from the team. And the only palpable result I could remember under Ganguly back then was the 4-2 loss against Pakistan at home. One series loss, and thus began Ganguly's end of the road that would eventually hit dead-end three years later.
Apart from all that, the debate of a big names being unable to be big coaches has caught storm. And one can’t' deny them too. Is a low profile actually a key to successful coaching? Well, the following stats are definitely in favour. In the last decade and a half, John Wright and Gary Kirsten have been India's most successful coaches along with a meagre mention of Anshuman Gaekwad who dint do a bad job himself as compared to big names such as Greg Chappel, Kapil Dev and Fletcher himself.
Considering how players and coaches were treated on the frequency of performances back then, it would take a brave man to predict Fletcher's future. Had a 0-8 taken place back when Sourav Ganguly and John Wright were incharge, both would have been sacked. So a bold move may just be on the cards considering the outcome of the series against England and Pakistan.
No comments:
Post a Comment