House divided, voting today

BCCI has to appoint a coach by the given deadline but the Board, for the moment, doesn8217;t know what lies ahead. Here8217;s some chicken feed for the rumourmongers: If it8217;s an Indian hand, a batting consultant will be named Viswanath or Chetan Chauhan along with a full-time manager Venkatraghavan. Of course, Prasad bowling coach and Robin Singh fielding are already there. If it is a foreigner, Whatmore is still the frontrunner

Before zeroing in on the name of the Indian coach, the high-profile committee that has been formed to choose Greg Chappell8217;s replacement will have to first arrive at a consensus on a very rudimentary, but prickly issue. When BCCI president Sharad Pawar and a handful of former India captains meet here tomorrow they will first debate if India need a foreign coach or should they hand over the reins to a local after seven years.

Given the buzz around this eagerly anticipated appointment, what has come out more clearly is the chaos than bringing any particular name to the fore. Until recently, Dav Whatmore 8212; who8217;s quit the Bangladesh job and is keen to take up the India assignment 8212; was said to be a sure shot to make the grade. Later, names like South Africa8217;s Graham Ford, director of cricket at Kent, former India captain Srinivas Venkatraghavan, Gundappa Viswanath and others began to surface.

The Indian Express caught up with a Board official who will be a part of Monday8217;s meeting and it is fair to maintain that members of the BCCI themselves remain as clueless as anybody else.

8220;Nothing can be said before the meeting. There8217;s already been so much speculation in the media about Whatmore as if his name has already been decided. But, all I can say is you8217;ll have to wait and watch,8221; says the official, not wasting time to count another couple of names who could be in fray.

The complications, nevertheless, can be put as simply as possible. The players want a foreign coach and former cricketers like Gavaskar and Venkatraghavan are in favour of an Indian.

Whether it is Whatmore or Ford, the buzz is that top cricketers like Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar are unlikely to have an objection.

The retired stars give two reasons for their decision. Firstly, they think that another Aussie Whatmore for Chappell isn8217;t the ideal choice. Secondly, they strongly believe that only an Indian can understand the mindset of our players. Besides, they feel that there are enough Indians around worthy to be on the hot seat.

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India, at present, already have the services of a bowling and a fielding coach. Another strong idea doing the rounds is to have a batting coach too, along with a full time cricket manager who has had the experience of playing international cricket too.

From giving quotes like 8220;we met Whatmore and were impressed8221; to now saying 8220;the committee will decide on the next coach,8221; BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah has given enough indication to suggest that all is not as clear as it seems to be. Even Pawar, who8217;s handed over all the responsibilities to who he now calls his brain trust, has washed his hands off as far as spelling out the names are concerned. 8220;We have men like Gavaskar and Venkatraghavan to decide and there8217;s no doubting their abilities,8221; he said a couple of days ago.

The BCCI had failed to get its act together in time and contact former Sri Lanka coach Tom Moody, who had decided by then to head home and coach Western Australia.

Amidst the chaos, one thing is clear. That is, the BCCI has to appoint a coach by the given deadline but the Board, for the moment, doesn8217;t know what lies ahead. But the rumourmongers need not be conerned. Here8217;s some chicken feed for them: If it8217;s an Indian hand, a batting consultant will be named Gundappa Viswanath or Chetan Chauhan along with a full-time manager Venkatraghavan. Of course, Venkatesh Prasad bowling coach and Robin Singh fielding are already there. If it is a foreigner, Whatmore is still the frontrunner.