Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar has lashed out at Indian coach Duncan Fletcher and called for his immediate sacking while nominating Rahul Dravid as his his preferred coach for the top job in Indian cricket.
Gavaskar was unrelenting in his criticism of Fletcher and said that there has been no improvement in the Indian team since Fletcher’s appointment and was of the view that the support staff have to claim responsibility for the team’s abysmal performances. Speaking to NDTV, Gavaskar said : “Somewhere, this slide has to be stopped irrespective of what happens in the World T20. I think this is the right time because if you wait till the end of the World Cup, then we will probably witness a similar outcome as we’ve been doing.”
“Based on Fletcher’s performance, I would give him 1.5 in a scale of 10. I feel that he isn’t getting the best out of the players. Fletcher’s achievements as a cricketer wasn’t anything remarkable. He was an ECB reject, and never had the credentials of John Wright or Gary Kirsten, who were achievers in international cricket. That is precisely the reason why I feel there is a need to have a younger guy at the helm. The person will have the drive, will have the intensity, will want to prove that he has got the coaching credentials.”
“Rahul Dravid is an immensely respected individual and a very successful captain with series wins in West Indies and England. When he speaks, even some of the superstars in the team listen keenly as they know how much preparation went into his game,” Gavaskar told the channel on his pick as for the top job.
Gavaskar opined that if senior stalwarts like Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Harbhajan Singh can be dropped for the lack of form and lack of performance, then he felt that the backroom staff must also own responsibility for the team’s poor performances. “If you can drop stalwarts in the team citing lack of form, how can you continue to persist with the same set of coaches?”
Gavaskar also spoke of how an Indian influence in the dressing room has yielded great success in the past : “Look what happened after the 2007 World Cup disaster. Ravi Shastri(Bangladesh), Chandu Borde(England), Lalchand Rajput(inaugral ICC World T20 in South Africa) and Chetan Chauhan(Indian team manager in the 2007-08 Australia tour) were there with the team. It was an incredible year for us,” Gavaskar points out as India went on to win the series in Bangladesh and England as well as lift the inaugral T20 crown in Johannesburg defeating Pakistan in the final.
Gavaskar however clarifies that it is not an indian-foreigner issue : “For me, it hardly matters if it is an Indian or a foreign player. I am saying bring in a slightly younger guy who is in touch with the modern game.