Active Stocks
Thu Mar 28 2024 15:59:33
  1. Tata Steel share price
  2. 155.90 2.00%
  1. ICICI Bank share price
  2. 1,095.75 1.08%
  1. HDFC Bank share price
  2. 1,448.20 0.52%
  1. ITC share price
  2. 428.55 0.13%
  1. Power Grid Corporation Of India share price
  2. 277.05 2.21%
Business News/ News / Business Of Life/  The curious case of the missing Indian coaches
BackBack

The curious case of the missing Indian coaches

There is a cap on the number of foreign players in an IPL team but none on foreign back-end staff. And Indian coaches are few and far between

Kings XI Punjab coach Sanjay Bangar (with the cap) believes Indian coaches can deliver. Photograph courtesy Kings XI PunjabPremium
Kings XI Punjab coach Sanjay Bangar (with the cap) believes Indian coaches can deliver. Photograph courtesy Kings XI Punjab

OTHERS :

Indian cricket may be the powerhouse of world cricket, with the Indian Premier League (IPL) having played a big part in elevating India’s status, but when it comes to coaching, Indians are yet to make a mark.

Despite having 27 Ranji teams in domestic cricket, coaches from India are not in great demand worldwide. Not even in the IPL.

When it comes to coaches, the IPL could well be the “Indian Foreign League". Look at the coaching teams of the eight IPL teams in the season that started Wednesday, and you will find almost 80% (17 of 24 coaches) are foreigners. While the teams from southern India (Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad) don’t seem to have bothered with Indians on their coaching staff, Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians have Monty Desai and Robin Singh as assistant coaches, respectively. Desai had never worked in domestic cricket before he joined the Royals; he has worked with various minor cricket teams in the US.

Delhi Daredevils have token representation in S. Sriram, an assistant coach, but he doesn’t even find mention on the official website where Gary Kirsten (head coach), Eric Simons (bowling coach) and Rob Walters (fielding coach) find prominent mention. In fact, to confirm Sriram’s designation and his exact role, this writer had to call up as many as four team officials.

Mumbai Indians’ assistant coach Robin Singh (right) with player Ambati Rayudu. Photo: Santosh Harhare/Hindustan Times
View Full Image
Mumbai Indians’ assistant coach Robin Singh (right) with player Ambati Rayudu. Photo: Santosh Harhare/Hindustan Times

On this front, Kings XI Punjab stand out this season. Former India opener Sanjay Bangar was hired as an assistant coach just before the season 7 auction. He went on to impress everyone with his shrewd selection at the auction. Not surprisingly, Bangar leapfrogged to coach in just over a month and is now being assisted by another Indian, R. Sridhar, as fielding coach, and Australian Joe Dawes as bowling coach.

“Designation doesn’t matter. We have to do the same kind of work. It feels nice that Indian coaches are getting more chances in the IPL," says Bangar, clarifying that he is coach, not head coach.

In the past, the likes of Lalchand Rajput, Venkatesh Prasad, Pravin Amre and Vikram Rathour have worked with different franchises, but the number is insignificant. “It baffles me too. It’s tough to understand why they don’t hire more local coaches who might have a better connect with the domestic players, are better communicators (can speak in English and Hindi and other local languages)," says Surendra Bhave, a former India selector and present coach of the Maharashtra Ranji Trophy team. Maharashtra reached the Ranji Trophy final this year after 21 years.

Foreign coaches too find it difficult to explain this preference.

“I am not too sure if the domestic structure for coaches in India is as strong as it is for the player’s development," John Buchanan, former coach of Kolkata Knight Riders, said a couple of months back. The former Australian coach has an impressive record at all levels of the game—during his tenure from 1999-2007, Buchanan coached Australia to a world record number of straight Test match wins (16), consecutive One Day International victories (21) and two World Cups and 24 games undefeated—but failed miserably in the IPL with the Kolkata Knight Riders. He was ridiculed for his ultra-radical thought of having multiple captains in cricket during IPL 2009.

To protect the interests of domestic talent and nurture local players, there has been a cap of four foreign players in the playing 11 since the IPL started. It has served Indian players well, particularly the uncapped and unknown domestic players. But the same logic was never applied to domestic coaches, whose development could help the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) find a head coach for the Indian team locally.

“My thinking is that the coaches share knowledge. It will be a symbiotic relationship with a foreign coach which will benefit both. On an IPL platform, an Indian coach will also learn a great deal by sharing and interacting with his counterparts from abroad, and eventually that will help Indian cricket," says Bhave, who wants to see more Indian coaches.

In the 1990s, India hardly won anything significant. Initially, former players like Bishan Bedi and Ajit Wadekar worked as managers, not coaches. Later, Anshuman Gaekwad and Madan Lal did coaching stints, with mixed results, while there was nothing spectacular about Kapil Dev’s tenure. Since 2000, foreigners—John Wright, Greg Chappell, Gary Kirsten and, now, Duncan Fletcher—have been in charge of the national team as full-time coaches.

“They seem to prefer foreign coaches since there is a flawed perception that Indian coaches are not good and carry a lot of past baggage," says Bhave. In the early 2000s, senior players felt Indian coaches were not world-class. They behaved more like former players with an “I know it all" attitude and were often accused of being parochial, and generally disruptive to team unity.

“But they need to realize that a lot has changed in terms of professionalism in Indian cricket and the theory of Indian coaches being too opinionated is far from true," adds Bhave.

“I think we have now got a lot of domestic coaches who are contemporary, articulate, methodical and professional and should be given more chances, at least in the IPL. Unless you give them a better platform, how will you judge them?" asks former India player Aakash Chopra.

“It is an IPL. It is good to have a mix of foreign coaches, foreign players, because you are definitely going to improve your knowledge of the game, but it is not that all foreigners are knowledgeable. I have seen so many players who are better than foreign players. So many coaches in India who are better than the foreign coaches, who are part of the IPL set-up now," says Venkatesh Prasad, whose team Uttar Pradesh narrowly lost to Baroda in the domestic Twenty20 league Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in Mumbai on 14 April.

IPL team owners seem to overlook the failures of foreign coaches. If former South African coach Ray Jennings was allowed to continue with Royal Challengers Bangalore for five years though they didn’t win either an IPL or a Champions League trophy, former Sri Lankan coach Tom Moody was signed up by Sunrisers Hyderabad last year despite a modest show with Kings XI Punjab in the first two seasons.

The franchises have at least started appointing former India players as mentors. If Anil Kumble is the chief mentor of Mumbai Indians, Rahul Dravid is the mentor of Rajasthan Royals. Sunrisers Hyderabad have two mentors in K. Srikkanth and V.V.S. Laxman. Mumbai Indians have Sachin Tendulkar as an “icon", a first.

Now that Kings XI Punjab have taken the initiative, Bhave says the success of Bangar and Sridhar could have a bearing on the future of many domestic coaches.

Vimal Kumar is the author of Sachin: Cricketer of the Century and deputy sports editor with IBN7.

Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!

Catch all the Business News, Market News, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
More Less
Published: 16 Apr 2014, 07:08 PM IST
Next Story footLogo
Recommended For You
Switch to the Mint app for fast and personalized news - Get App