5 reasons why Duncan Fletcher must be sacked as Indian coach

Sometimes, anything that can go wrong,will go wrong.That is Murphys Law and Indian cricket is its latest victim.It has been embroiled in a rather needless controversy yet again. The reticent Hercules of Indian cricket, M S Dhoni, strangely is the man who has committed the faux pas. Even hecannot escape BCCIs ire, with higher ranked officials in the richest cricketing board expressing plenty of dissatisfaction over the way he graced a question which could have been answered as above my pay-grade with a genuine answer.It is funny that he feels Duncan Fletcher is still the boss, because clearly Duncan isnt. It is funnier, as he feels, Duncan would be there coaching India until WC2015, because clearly BCCI has done enough in the last couple of weeks to prove it is not a foregone conclusion.In fact, its a much delayed decision, and the signs should have been spotted much earlier. Hereare some reasonswhy the BCCI should sack Fletcher in spite of his contract extending until next years ODI World Cup:

#1 Lack of fresh ideas

When India was humiliated with a 4-0 series card in England in 2011, we gave Fletcher the benefit of doubt. When India failed again with the same score-line in the Australia series, the blame was shifted on the senior passengers in the team, claiming careers of two of them.

But what happened in 2014, shows the team has by now learnt to walk to the slaughtering machine without so much as an intent to try something different. Fletcher gets some credit for the good performances of the young team in South Africa and New Zealand, but deserves as much flak for the way the team spirals into utter failure at the first sign of opposition aggression.

Fletcher’s greatest moment under the sun was the Champions Trophy victory in England in 2013. Barring that, India’s overseas performances have very little to show under his vigil.

#2 Baffling team compositions

Either it is Dhoni’s call or the coach’s, but the team’s composition at times has been baffling. The coach, at the very least, needs to be assertive if the skipper is taking too many wrong calls, side-lining him. What is not forgivable though is seeing things fail repeatedly.

There has been plenty of criticism around how India never picked its best XI in the recent series. A seam-bowling all-rounder who didn’t bowl much, a frontline spinner with an impressive batting average repeatedly missing out from the playing XI and a batsman with sound technique dropped in favour of an out-of-form opener, are just signs of confusion and chaos.

One wonders how Gary Kirsten, Indian cricket’s most successful coach would have dealt with the transition. Surely, one might have seen more precision and sure-footedness on his part?

#3 Better alternatives

When you are at the abyss, panicking doesn’t help. But you also need to take the right steps since the climb back is always arduous.

Ravi Shastri has been picked as the Director, a new post created just for the England-India ODI series, showing a sign of panic on the part of administrators.

Despite such knee jerk reactions, the fact remains that there are plenty of options for a cash-rich BCCI. Surely, coaches like Tom Moody and Stephen Fleming (highly successful master tactician at the helm of Chennai Super Kings) or mavericks like Shane Warne and Sourav Ganguly are worth a try, considering they couldn’t do any worse than Fletcher.

Besides, with the World Cup 6 months away, this might be a good time to go for fresh ideas. The West Indies tour of India will be a good opportunity to try out new ideas and a new coach, at home, without much pressure. Given the team’s composition and the emergence of many small-town players, it is not a bad idea to shift from our fix on foreign coaches to an ex-Indian player who could communicate better.

Moves such as efforts to convince Rahul Dravid to take up the role of mentor or making Sanjay Bangar, the assistant coach, are impressive in this regard, but are still not decisive enough to make a genuine shuffle with a lasting impression.

#4 Team chemistry

Indians can take a leaf straight out of the book of the Australians who lost 4–0 in India, before firing from all cylinders in the Ashes.

Darren Lehmann brought joy to their game, along with a healthy player-coach relationship. Gary Kirsten enjoyed a similar relationship with Indian players. That kind of camaraderie hasn’t really been seen between Fletcher and the new set of Indian players, even though he has been around for quite a while.

Indian cricket, at this point, needs a coach who is a little more expressive and far more outreaching towards players.

#5 Repeated mistakes

Let’s face it, India were never a great bowling side. But errors such as bowling no-balls, losing length often and lack of discipline are things that indicate under-preparation for a game.

The same holds true for the batsmen. They can take all the throw-downs they want and face the bowling machine all day. However, if the wheels of their technique are falling apart way too many times, you tend to ask if the coach is really doing what he should be.

The way players like Cheteshwar Pujara, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli have been taken for a ride by quality bowling, you wonder if they don’t need a stronger man to close out the ever-widening chinks in their armour. After all, in competitive international sports arena, repetition of mistakes is nothing but an indication of callousness or a lack of foresight. It is about time that was addressed.