India should go for a foreign coach?....

The recently appointed coach of the Indian Team Anshuman Gaekwad has been told by BCCI that he is a temporary coach till they find a permanent person for the job and that will be either John Wright from New Zealand or Geoff Marsh from Australia. Whoever will be appointed remains to be seen but what one is relieved to see is BCCI’s step towards the right direction. After trying out the expertise of so many former Indian players who could not do much except for watching India lose some more matches they have decided to rope in a foreigner. In the past few years, the fitness level deteriorated and so did the level of their game. Even a great player like Kapil Dev could not change the fortunes of this team who is in desperate need of a foreign coach who can not only help them become mentally stronger but also teach them various techniques which the Indian Team is not even aware of. And who better than Geoff Marsh who took Australia to great heights and turned them in to a World Class team.  Indian team is known to give up easily and also they succumb under pressure. India lacks in fitness, their fielding is not worth mentioning and there is not much innovativeness in their approach. A foreign coach would not only tell them about the various new techniques that their countries have adopted but the kind of fielding standards that their countries set will be such a great help.  They are also mentally tough and they can help the team psychologically. Our Indian players might have done very well in their playing days but times have changed and certain things have to be adopted and because our culture makes us so conservative that it is difficult for us to break through that mould. A foreigner can try out different things and bring a new approach to the game. It is for sure that if Bob Simpson had been a more permanent feature of this team than better results would have come out. So the board’s decision to hire a foreign coach is right in every sense of the word.

India should not go for a foreign coach?.....

So the board is on a lookout for another coach and this time a foreigner, not that they have not tried it already. If a team could not benefit from someone like Bob Simpson than it is beyond one’s comprehension why Geoff Marsh or John Wright would make any difference. The answer is simple that the problem does not lie in the coaches but the team itself and to overcome that one must look at the composition and the selection of the team. To hire a foreign coach would be just another wasteful exercise and the board should think about it before taking someone on. No matter how good the coach is it is the team, which has to ultimately perform. If the board selects eleven worthy players than even someone like Hirwani will also make them perform. We have great players like Gavaskar. Vengsarkar, Amarnath, Roger Binny, Bedi who have performed so well at the highest level and their surety of delivering the goods is as good as Geoff Marsh’s or John Wright’s. The best example is of the Australians. David Buchanan has never played Test cricket and still is such a successful coach and the reason behind that is the team that he is coaching has some of the best players in the world who take pride in playing for their country and he is a value addition. The board is going to unnecessarily spend a huge amount and the results will be the same. As far as the techniques are concerned well to succeed in any field you should have your basic strong. If you excel there than there is no stopping. As far as mental toughness is concerned well it is not possible for anybody to make anyone mentally stronger. It is the way an individual is built. There is nothing about being Indians otherwise we will not have Tendulkar or Kumble in our team. So the fact remains that foreign coach is not the answer. The board has to be more precise in their approach and get a winning combination. And then decide who should be the coach.