Gary Kirsten - The man who made the difference for India

Not a long time ago, the same Indian team seemed unassailable. At least our batting was something we were proud of and almost never looked so vulnerable. And suddenly, everything has changed. From being champions to just another strong side on paper, defeating India is no longer the same challenge as it used to be a couple of years back. The much awaited ‘revenge series’ was another humiliation for our team and that too at home. Yes, the retirement of the Mr. Dependable and the very very special Laxman had a big role in the sudden downfall of India’s Test squad but even our ODI squad seems pretty vulnerable against any good team now.

Not much has changed in our ODI team and thus, the thing that stands out as the most significant reason for this downfall, is the departure of Gary Kirsten. Gary Kirsten provided a much needed platform, confidence and strength in the team whose foundation was laid by another foreign coach, John Wright. John Wright was developing a squad for the future, pretty much the same task Duncan Fletcher is facing for 2016. Sehwag, Yuvraj, Zaheer and Dhoni are all products of the Ganguly-Wright combination that provided the perfect platform for youths to develop on the big stage. Dhoni surely has achieved a lot of things Ganguly couldn’t, but Dhoni-Fletcher combination has not worked well for a considerable time now.

I just read about Dada’s statement in the newspaper, saying it’s time for India to have an Indian coach. I don’t think the problem lies with the nationality of the team’s coach but rather the choice of the coach. We need a coach like Wright, like Kirsten who can help the team live up to its expectations on big occasions, while simultaneously taking care of the future needs. If it can come from an Indian coach, then it will be the best, but there’s absolutely no reason to stop looking at international personnel for the reputed post. It wasn’t a fluke, our World Cup victory. We were one of the key contenders for the no. 1 place for a long time, winning series abroad and winning easily those which we hosted. We went into the tournament as favourites and we justified the tag. Yes, we sure had a team with lots of game-changers, but the important thing was that we clicked as a team, something we haven’t seen much in the recent matches. Dhoni-Kirsten combination was what worked wonders for India.

The World Cup winning farewell was a perfect one for the South African and our players also credited him for a significant part of that success. That was probably why BCCI was offering a humongous amount of salary to continue as the coach. The giant gap left behind by Kirsten is something too much for Duncan Fletcher to fill in for some reason. No, Gary Kirsten will not be back and I am not saying hope is lost without him. But yes, we need to look at our options. Greg Chappell was a bigger disaster but it sure taught us a lot many important lessons. It’s high time for Fletcher to prove why he deserves the post before BCCI starts looking for other options.