The Kirsten effect
Wild but popular speculation never had any qualms in suggesting that coach Greg Chappell was a mole sent in by the Aussies to break the backbone of an emerging Indian force in world cricket and secretly consign it to the dustbin of unsung history.
This surely was one of those no-truth-to-it-at-all allegations which often find wind with much-worshipped sports like cricket, but the fallout of his two-year presence with the Indian team turned out to be no less crippling.
Whatever may be the reasons, under him and his coaching demeanour, Team India got ruptured as never before and players got infected with a strange epidemic of self-doubt, intrigue, distrust and damaging insecurity. The more Chappell pushed them to perform, the more they failed. The spirit of cricket went out of the dressing room as spiritedness out of the window. From a runners-up slot at South Africa 2003 to a group stage oustee from Carribbean 2007, much that was unholy and much that should not have happened, happened to Indian cricket.
Chappell’s style of functioning was just the opposite of his predecessor John Wright. If Wright would punish his brood for non-performance by making them take introspective runs of the stadium after losing a match, Chappell would shoot off emails suggesting the end of their careers; if Wright would withdraw into a shell in anger, Chappell would sing to the media and roar at the nets; if Wright would largely suffer Ganguly’s arrogance for the good of the team, Chappell would publicly humiliate him in away series with no concern for the fallout. Slowly but surely, the high paid coach in Chappell started resembling a higher liability, on team confidence and on India’s march to the top of the world order.
In retrospect, everyone in the establishment realises that the essential task of a coach is to remain, well, essentially in the background, mould cautiously, not aspire to steer; work around and not slug out — a task the new man in South Africa’s Gary Kirsten has seemingly taken to, like a true employee of the Indian Board.
The very fact that Kirsten would get a goodness certificate from the most troublesome-to-coaches man Sourav Ganguly who said the other day, “Kirsten is a tougher form of John Wright and I have gone to him for long instructions,” is achievement enough for a man who has been seen and heard lesser and lesser in the Indian team.
Today, when Team India and its fresh force is kissing the rising sun, a trouble free establishment is crucial for it. Kirsten, whose doggedness to work things out often came through in the way he moulded and revived his batting performances as a player, is known to be an unobtrusive yet keen follower of the game. He did pretty well at his cricket academy back home before taking up the high-profile management of iconic stars in the Indian team where follies are seldom excused and clashes have to be averted everytime an ego has to be put in place.
One must say, much has changed in the cricketing establishment of India since Chappell left, and for the good. The BCCI has become a stern employer and, having learnt from its earlier mistakes, has made it clear to Kirsten that he has to keep his media interactions to the minimum and to the liking of the Board.
Added to this is bifurcated job responsibilities which has kept friction away and given room to professionalism — Team India now has a bowling coach, a fielding coach and an overall coach. You work out with Robin Singh, you talk it out with Gary Kirsten and you go for technicality training of the arm to Venkatesh Prasad. Of course, the captain and the coach are no longer fighting for turf. Kirsten sees no overlapping and the skipper is a keen learner. End of friction, end of Chappellisms. Enter Gary, enter Mahi, enter universal peace and brotherhood.
This surely was one of those no-truth-to-it-at-all allegations which often find wind with much-worshipped sports like cricket, but the fallout of his two-year presence with the Indian team turned out to be no less crippling.
Whatever may be the reasons, under him and his coaching demeanour, Team India got ruptured as never before and players got infected with a strange epidemic of self-doubt, intrigue, distrust and damaging insecurity. The more Chappell pushed them to perform, the more they failed. The spirit of cricket went out of the dressing room as spiritedness out of the window. From a runners-up slot at South Africa 2003 to a group stage oustee from Carribbean 2007, much that was unholy and much that should not have happened, happened to Indian cricket.
Chappell’s style of functioning was just the opposite of his predecessor John Wright. If Wright would punish his brood for non-performance by making them take introspective runs of the stadium after losing a match, Chappell would shoot off emails suggesting the end of their careers; if Wright would withdraw into a shell in anger, Chappell would sing to the media and roar at the nets; if Wright would largely suffer Ganguly’s arrogance for the good of the team, Chappell would publicly humiliate him in away series with no concern for the fallout. Slowly but surely, the high paid coach in Chappell started resembling a higher liability, on team confidence and on India’s march to the top of the world order.
In retrospect, everyone in the establishment realises that the essential task of a coach is to remain, well, essentially in the background, mould cautiously, not aspire to steer; work around and not slug out — a task the new man in South Africa’s Gary Kirsten has seemingly taken to, like a true employee of the Indian Board.
The very fact that Kirsten would get a goodness certificate from the most troublesome-to-coaches man Sourav Ganguly who said the other day, “Kirsten is a tougher form of John Wright and I have gone to him for long instructions,” is achievement enough for a man who has been seen and heard lesser and lesser in the Indian team.
Today, when Team India and its fresh force is kissing the rising sun, a trouble free establishment is crucial for it. Kirsten, whose doggedness to work things out often came through in the way he moulded and revived his batting performances as a player, is known to be an unobtrusive yet keen follower of the game. He did pretty well at his cricket academy back home before taking up the high-profile management of iconic stars in the Indian team where follies are seldom excused and clashes have to be averted everytime an ego has to be put in place.
One must say, much has changed in the cricketing establishment of India since Chappell left, and for the good. The BCCI has become a stern employer and, having learnt from its earlier mistakes, has made it clear to Kirsten that he has to keep his media interactions to the minimum and to the liking of the Board.
Added to this is bifurcated job responsibilities which has kept friction away and given room to professionalism — Team India now has a bowling coach, a fielding coach and an overall coach. You work out with Robin Singh, you talk it out with Gary Kirsten and you go for technicality training of the arm to Venkatesh Prasad. Of course, the captain and the coach are no longer fighting for turf. Kirsten sees no overlapping and the skipper is a keen learner. End of friction, end of Chappellisms. Enter Gary, enter Mahi, enter universal peace and brotherhood.
Published on November 12, 200; http://www.dailypioneer.com/133878/The-Kirsten-effect.html
Comments
Post a Comment