Coach saga continues

The comical and farcical process of recruiting a coach for India continues it seems. A job that was once coveted as the top job seems to be a hot potato that no one seems to want to take on. The BCCI rightly take the majority of the blame for the shambolic position. It seems that they had naturally assumed that there would be clamour for the position, as they did not even advertise for it or had any foresight in thinking of a replacement when they were well aware that it was likely to be vacant after the World Cup.

By the time they realised that the matter was pressing, most of the top candidates had other positions or were not interested.The events since then with a series of names being mentioned and speculated upon and the amateurish handling of the whole affair has made the position very unattractive to any prospective candidate.

So now there is no coach appointed for a major tour abroad and in another twist, Chandu Borde has been plucked out of retirement to manage the team. How this happened is any ones guess but one is not surprised anymore. His name has never been mentioned before and at 72 years of age he has been out of the game for a long time and one would surmise not in tune with the current players. One can only assume that his role will primarily be to organise and manage affairs externally on a tour or will he participate in the fielding drills and act as batting coach as well? He may be a secret laptop brigade specialist and will bring invaluable analysis and tactical nouse to the team. One can only speculate as to his actual role and the contribution he will make.

One thing is certain and that is that the team are going to have to take a lot of responsibility themselves, none more so than the captain, Rahul Dravid. Former greats like Shastri and Gavasker who claim to have the best interests of the team will take up their positions in the media, safely away from the central stage and let the team sweat it out in the middle. It is a shame that those that proclaim to have the teams interest at heart are not willing to put their money where their mouth is and help the team in their hour of need. They will make comments and may even offer words of wisdom from their safe positions but that will be of little benefit to the team.

It will be interesting to see how India do on this tour with all that has gone on off the pitch. It is likely to be a well contested series, with many of the Indians familiar with English conditions and having much success here. England are warming up well and have the added strength of what looks like an excellent coach in Peter Moores. He seems to me to exemplify what a coach should be and seems a vital asset to the team in his short time at the helm.

If India do not do well one of the reasons given for this will undoubtedly be lack of a coach and if they do well, one will question the need for a coach at all. Whatever happens we have surely not heard the last of the coach saga, many more twists and turn remain.