To Be A Good Leader, One Has To Be A Good Follower, Says India’s Fielding Coach After Anil Kumble’s Exit
Jun 28, 2017 at 11:58 AM
The Story:
With Anil Kumble’s acrimonious departure as Team India’s coach causing a huge debate as to how one coach should operate, India fielding coach R Sridhar insisted that a head coach of a modern-day cricket team needs to yield to the demands of the entire team.
“What’s important in today’s cricket as a leader is to follow the energies within the group. It’s important to be receptive. You have to yield to the demands of the group and you have to make sure that each guy is in the best possible space,” he said on Tuesday (June 28).
Hailing the current India team’s experience, Sridhar further said being a good follower is one of the prime attributes of a good leader.
“The current Indian has some great experience. So we should allow that experience to take over and be inclusive and take the best possible decisions for the team. What is important to be a good leader is to be a good follower,” said Sridhar.
The Background:
Anil Kumble, who joined the team as its coach in June last year, enjoyed a very successful stint with the team. Under him, Virat Kohli & Co. beat West Indies in away Test series before registering Test series victories over New Zealand, England, Bangladesh and Australia, respectively at home. They also won the accompanying limited-overs series against New Zealand and England in addition to finishing runners-up in the recently concluded ICC Champions Trophy.
However, Kumble’s tenure came to a bitter end when he turned down an offer to extend his contract just a few days after the end of the Champions Trophy amid rumours of a rift between him and captain Virat Kohli. The India skipper had denied the reports of a rift but the outgoing coach confirmed that he decided to part ways with the team after being told of Kohli’s ‘reservations’ over his style of functioning.
The whole episode has made many reassess the role of a coach in the team. When a passionate and hard-working man like Kumble has failed to impress the team, everyone is believing which kind of coach will please the Indian team. Several former cricketers have criticised Kohli for his alleged part in Kumble’s departure with spin legend Erapalli Prasanna even saying that the team really does not need a coach when the captain is the ‘boss’.