So what now? The sentiment is building up towards a homegrown coach. Even the players, who were so opposed to the idea a couple of years ago, are open it to now. Mohinder Amarnath's name has cropped up again, as has Sandeep Patil's. Some board members are even proposing the name of Sunil Gavaskar, who has so far kept himself away from contention.

Do India really need a coach in the traditional sense? In fact, is there a single definition for a cricket coach?

But nothing would be more disastrous than an Indian being appointed for the sake of it. It is fashionable among former players to speak mockingly of laptop coaches but no country can afford a coach lacking in contemporary thinking. A return to status quo would be a step
back to the dark ages.

Here's a thought, though: Do India really need a coach in the traditional sense? In fact, is there a single definition for a cricket coach?

Over the years, coaches have defined their own roles according to their own beliefs and abilities. Some focus on technicalities, some are theorists, some are man-managers and some believe in being facilitators. Bob Woolmer was one of the finest batting coaches, John Buchanan is a man of ideas and John Wright believed in creating the right environment for
his players. No single coach can ever hope to fulfill all the requirements of a modern cricket team.

Given that a foreign coach is bound come up against the system in India and get both frustrated with and hampered by it, why not consider appointing a team of specialists? Many countries are moving towards specialised coaches integrated into a unit. Troy Cooley worked wonders with the English bowlers, Jonty Rhodes is busy cranking up the fielding of the South African team yet another notch and Mike Young has done so with the Australians.

India need help in all three areas of the game. The batsmen have consistently struggled to come to terms with pace, bounce and swing. They have a young and impressionable pace bowling attack which is now led by Zaheer Khan, himself returning from a break, and no one needs help more urgently than Irfan Pathan. John Wright has often spoken about how much the pace bowlers benefited from the presence of Bruce Reid in their camp during their successful tour of Australia. And India are among the world's worst fielding sides, regularly conceding 20 to 30 runs in one-day cricket.

Money is not a concern and if the board is sincere about it, they can find the best professionals from the global pool of talent. This team can then work with a manager of stature and proven integrity, an Indian who can help them negotiate the system. Someone who can be both link and a shield. Someone tough and uncompromising. Someone who can relate to Indian players, who is above petty politics and regionalism, and wholly committed to the idea of winning.

Step forward Ravi Shastri.

Totally agrees with the points mentioned.
If we people wants to survive with the present
trend of cricket we need atleast 2 coaches, one
for the batting and the othere for the bowling
specialisation.

I strongly feel that Daveneil Whatmore,Tom Moody or John Buchanan is a much better option than Ravi Shastri. Ravi Shastri is not really into coaching. We should pick up a man who is in the profession of coaching and that is where these two of these three Aussies fit in; they also have experience of the sub-continent. We should look into coaches like Pravin Amre and Paras Mhambrey who have brought tremendous results in the domestic circuit. They may be brought in as an assistant coach to Whatmore or Moody. It may sound a bit over-the-top at this stage but even Sourav Ganguly may be a good player-cum-coach should he be willing. In addition, we definitely need a fielding coach where Yajuvendra Singh may be considered.

hey Sambit....just wanted to bring to your notice (in case you hadnt already noticed) the talent in George Binoy. He makes me want to come back to cricinfo on an hourly basis. It would be great if you could let him cover more stuff on the recent developments in cricket.....i would like to see more articles from him (if possible).

I feel if indian cricket needs to attain international standards,the cricket team and players will benefit from cricketing brains from around the world-leave the talent spotting to the indians ofcourse.One possibility could be rotating international coaches with maximum of one year contract which should include a home series and a away series.World cup ventures should be with a batting ,bowling and fielding coaches at a national level with a manager.

Talking about BCCI decisions that dont make sense, the appointment of Ravi Shastri as the coach would be one of them. Does he have any credentials or past experience with being a coach ? He can talk and talk some more, but he has never coached any team. He is good at making experts comments, but so are most former Indian cricketers. Kapil Dev was a coach once and I am not sure if he was any good.
Actually, our statisticians should perform an analysis about team performances with and without an Indian coach. It would make for a more thought provoking argument.

indian players r 2 old 2 play cricket n they play for money