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Why Anil Kumble failed as Team India coach — and why Sehwag should be next

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Arindam De
Arindam DeJun 21, 2017 | 15:14

Why Anil Kumble failed as Team India coach — and why Sehwag should be next

The job of coaching Team India is by far one of the most glamorous and coveted jobs in the world of cricket. It comes with its perks and pitfalls.

You are virtually up against 100 crore coaches, yes almost everyone in India has views about coaching Team India, much like what happens with one who is lucky or unlucky enough to coach Brazil in football, depending on the results.

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Now there was little wrong with the technical knowhow or knowledge of Anil Kumble, but in sports — especially cricket being cricket — teams do not always win. And with every defeat comes a huge avalanche of criticism that engulfs anyone involved with the team.

Such public pressures are not experienced by most other teams. The way every decision of the coach is analysed can leave him feeling numb after a while. Ask Greg Chappell.

Amidst the turmoil, Ravi Shastri stepped in for the role and did a more than decent job. His easy-going attitude and people management skills won him support in the dressing room and that reflected in the turnaround that Team India witnessed on the field.

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Anil Kumble was something that Team India had probably not encountered previously. Photo:PTI

Then Anil Kumble stepped into the big shoes. An engineer with an acutely analytical mind, he was something that Team India had probably not encountered previously. That, combined with his work ethics and dedication, ensured that India enjoyed a remarkable 2016 under his guidance.

A win percentage of more than 70 per cent in Tests, more than 6 per cent in ODIs and 40 per cent in T20s is fabulous by any standards.

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I shall not be able to comment on whether his work ethics or penchant for discipline led to his much publicised fallout with the captain, that is a dressing room affair and should remain so. However, with his stepping down, Team India has, for now, lost one of the best analytical minds of the modern game and probably there are bigger, more crucial roles awaiting him in due course of time.

Now for the other star candidate who proposed his name for the coach's job — and is considered a frontrunner for the job — Virender Sehwag. I absolutely agree with him when he says he better write his name than sending a two-line CV. Virender Sehwag the swashbuckler, the demolisher of bowlers and the opposition team's morale.

The man who singlehandedly destroyed famed bowling attacks worldwide and more often than not gave Team India's limited bowling resources enough runs to defend.

The Najafgarh nawab was and is a rarity in world cricket, more so in an age where every ball a bowler bowls and every shot a batsman plays is analysed threadbare to arrive at possible shortcomings.

He was like a breath of fresh air on the cricket field, his mind uncluttered. He once said somewhere - cricket ek gend ka khel hai... or something like that. He studied no grammar, wrote his own and made the whole world go through it. He is all about setting free - setting the mind free, uncluttering it, letting the players do their own things. One point of interest would be to see what his advice to bowlers is- he never thought anything great about any prolem he faced in his glittering career. Now as we know we have a captain who wears his emotions on his sleeve. So there will always be a debate whether he needs to be set free or be restrained by the coach.

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There is no text book answer to that. There is no text book for coaches in a coaching job with Team India. If setting him free serves the purpose then the captain, why the captain each and every player of the team needs to be set free.

They must be allowed leeway to express themselves on field. Of course there will be stirring victories and there would be defeats - it is not life and death - it is just cricket - who said it? I do not recollect entirely but probably Lance Kluesner, said: The only thing is that Team India may need a bowling coach, which seems to be the current trend anyways.

Last updated: June 21, 2017 | 15:14
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