The buck stops with Gavaskar, Shastri

Dravid, VVS to come on board

London: What exactly is the role of Ravi Shastri, the new director of cricket operations of the Indian team now in England to complete a tortuous tour playing five one-dayers and a Twenty20 game after losing the five-Test series 1-3?

It is not the role of the former India all-rounder but the designation that tells a story. Does this mean the job of a coach is handed back to an Indian after one of Indian icons started talking the language of the present dispensation of Indian pride?

No overseas coach has been appointed without consulting the two heavyweights of Indian cricket, Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri. Both have been closely associated with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in some capacity or other for close to two decades.

Infact, they were part of an interview board to select one overseas coach.

In Fletcher's case, Shastri is diplomatic while Gavaskar makes no bones about his utter dislike for the man, hinting his appointment was for commercial reasons and the appointment of Indians is for cricket reasons! In any case, Fletcher's fate is not in the hands of Shastri.

It is believed that this depends largely on what Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman think if the two are to join the team management as it is widely speculated.

There is already a talk that the thin tank will be indigenised for all practical purposes and Dravid could be roped in as the team
mentor.

The board, which has always thought the Indian Premier League (IPL) as the best thing to have happened to Indian cricket and players, has all of a sudden found the Indian support staff from IPL as good as any in the world!

One season of good work in the IPL fetched Sanjay Bangar the job of assistant coach and his fielding coach at King XI Punjab R Sridhar for the same work with the Indian team. Bhart Arun is the new bowling coach. Suddenly, everyone seems to be finding virtues in the coaching styles of the three men.

Arun and Sridhar were BCCI employees as part of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) staff till it was disbanded last month. At least one aspirant, Lal Chand Rajput, India A coach, must be sulking for being ignored.

Bangar is now a mascot of sorts for the Indian coaching system after his exemplary work with the Kings XI when all other franchises preferred the so-called overseas experts for most positions.

The same board had earlier sacked Venkatesh Prasad as bowling coach and found Robin Singh not good enough to be the fielding coach, allowing overseas coaches to install their own support staff in key positions. It is essential to remember that it was the senior players who complained about the uselessness of Indian coaches, who, they insisted, behaved like a hostel warden. It is these senior players who suggested the names of overseas coaches, too.

The board has left no one in doubt as to whose brainwave it is to bring about these changes, they have taken the credit for the exercise over a "couple of weeks."

Even if the board had said the Supreme Court-appointed board chief N Shivlal Yadav had appointed Shastri after the exercise, it would have been in order because the former India off-spinner has at least some noteworthy playing credentials.

As its Man Friday, Shastri will always keep board's interests uppermost and will ensure that it is not dragged into the mire.
He will also not rock Mahendra Singh Dhoni's boat for obvious reasons.

In any case, Dhoni will surely be leading the side to defend the World Cup. One need not be surprised if the team fails to return with the cup on pitches the Indians dislike because of their bounce and pace.

What if India wins the World Cup?