Sourav Ganguly: The Best Option To Coach Team India

The Stare That's So Hot That It Can Turn Sand Into Glass!

In the midst of the trials and tribulations for India at the World Cup stands the more pressing concern of the future of the Team post World Cup. This in regards to their Coach Gary Kirsten, a man who is widely respected and liked amongst the players, deciding to give up the post. So in a Nation that lives, sleeps and dreams about cricket this has become a point of much conjecture from the men in the palaces to the men in the street. The key man being bandied around is the ex New Zealand Captain and current Coach of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) Stephen Flemming. The very astute Flemming is held in high esteem as seen in this quote:

‘Fleming, 37, is respected for having a shrewd cricketing mind and isn’t the type to ignite controversies. Plus, he’s known to manage players exceedingly well,’

Which indeed are key prerequisites for such a high profile job. Plus the fact the he has such a great working relationship with the current Indian Captain M.S.Dhoni at CSK.

As an outsider, I feel this is a flawed logic. It seems that a man who has been on the wrong side of average in his Captaincy in Dhoni is calling the shots. In team sports when an individual starts to get bigger than the Team, the latter is the loser.

Why would you like to hire a man like Flemming who would simply pander to Dhoni and the staus quo?

Granted it can be a recipe to have India stay where they are in the game, but it will hardly be a blueprint to propel them forward. Fine, Flemming will be expert at looking after the playing side of the game, but would he be able to deal with the Indian players and their eccentricities, which in India is probably a bigger issue than the playing of the game? So who should be the man to achieve this desire of taking India to the next level by being able to be a master of every facet of Indian cricket?

The name of Anil Kumble has been bandied around and his professionalism and attention to detail would be a great bonus in the job. Though would he be able to handle the huge egos of the players or would they indeed handle him with little or no respect? So another name has to be searched for the job of the next Indian coach.

What of another Indian who had a reputation of having such a presence that he could turn sand into glass with a stare. Such was the heat and fire in his eyes.

In Saurav Ganguly?

Sourav: The Best man to coach Team India?

Though he has no experience in coaching, he has the experience in the game. His recent commentary stint has shown his intimate understanding of the needs of the Indian Team citing such things as tactics, attention to fielding and lack of depth in bowling in his insights.

In Ganguly, as seen in his Captaincy, you find a man who stands in the face of anything and impose his will and get it done his way. Sourav can make Indian cricket to revisit the ground realities and reinvent it in a bigger and better way. One thing he will bring to the job is that he can resist if any administrator or big wig dares to stand on his way. No doubt aftermath of this, the winner will be Indian Cricket.

It is unlikely and in truth pie in the sky stuff. India likes to play safe and and most certainly will look after its ‘investments’ like M.S.Dhoni. But I would seriously back Saurav for this top job, if I were in the BCCI think tank. Saurav Ganguly can be the one to cure the persisting ills in Indian cricket with his iron fist.