Somewhere down the line you have to admit it that something just wasn’t right within that team India setup since the last few days. You had all sorts of rumors fueling suggesting a colossal rift between the ideologies of two champions, but rigid individuals – Anil Kumble and Virat Kohli. The rift was in the making for a good couple of months and ironically, it was this unfortunate aspect which surrounded India’s build up to the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy.
Result wise, it was just one off day for India which spoilt the party else, there would have been another silverware in that team India cabinet. But even if the team had won, would Kohli’s relationship with Kumble ever be repaired? That was the main question to which no answer seemed concrete enough. There was enough speculation surrounding the likely future, as some parties predicted a truce, while others felt that Kumble would have to bog down.
Call it for his own unselfish motives or for the better of the future of Indian cricket, Anil Kumble did step down as the coach of the Indian cricket team, exactly 365 days after he was first appointed. By such a thing happening, the ultimate loser has been Indian cricket, as Kumble, was a man of extreme stature and a champion who could have groomed future champions.
But now with Kumble calling it quits and the ultimate ambition of team India being the 2019 World Cup in England, the think tank will have to look for a new coach. While the names of Tom Moody and Lalchand Rajput have been around for the last few months, a new name in the fray has made things far more exciting.
Recently, catching everyone by utter surprise, was the inclusion of Virender Sehwag, among the front runners for the job. This however, apart from taken everyone by surprise, also shocked all stakeholders of Indian cricket. While Sehwag as a player and batsman was beyond superlatives and a revolutionary, the same cannot be said about his prowess as a coach.
Having mentored the Kings XI Punjab for two IPL seasons, Sehwag has that as his only material in the experience section of his resume. The former flamboyant opener has no experience of coaching even a domestic side, and this was one aspect which the BCCI focused heavily around when they first advertised for the head coach. Making someone like Sehwag, with no experience in coaching, as the head coach of a powerhouse outfit like team India can be catastrophic.
While there are no doubts regarding Sehwag the batsman and his contribution to Indian cricket, it is his approach which worries everyone around. Even as a player, Sehwag was a “see the ball hit the ball” batsman, with rarely any emphasis on technique and temperament. Sehwag’s premier strengths were in expressing himself the way he was in the field. While this can be apt for one particular individual, doing it from a team’s point of view would not be suitable.
Being a team which carries enormous expectations everyone it steps on the field, the side requires a more hands on approach. Here, a coach needs to minutely identify the strengths and weaknesses of all players and work in tandem with the members. Knowing Sehwag, his personality will be more like that of former Indian team director Ravi Shastri, who dwelled more on team talk than technique. For a unit to succeed, the coach needs to work on the brushing up of key issues, and motivational words alone won’t completely help the side.
The most concerning aspect surrounding Sehwag however, would be his experience of not coaching any other team. The Nawab of Najafgarh hasn’t been around the coaching circuit like someone as accomplished as Tom Moody, who has coached multiple international and domestic teams in the past. For that matter, even Lalchand Rajput enjoyed an efficient stint with the Indian side, having won the inaugural World T20 in South Africa and the CB Series in Australia in March 2008.
This is a crucial moment in Indian cricket’s fortune. The blueprint and the road for the 2019 World Cup commence off right from Friday when the side takes on West Indies at Port of Spain. The Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) comprising of Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman must take a call and appoint someone of tremendous stature as India’s next coach.
Having said everything, Sehwag as a batsman did accomplish everything and change the aura of the game, but for the role of a head coach, team India needs to look beyond him.