‘If ex-bat gets job, bowling coach is a must’

Most of the candidates for the job of India coach have one thing in common (apart from being Australian): They are batsmen. And if one of th...

Most of the candidates for the job of India coach have one thing in common (apart from being Australian): They are batsmen. And if one of them gets the job, says Venkatesh Prasad, the BCCI should appoint a specialist bowling coach.

A former fast-medium bowler, a qualified Level III coach in India and Australia — and England, too, if next month’s course goes well — and till very recently India under-19 coach, Prasad is in a position to speak on the biggest issue in Indian cricket at present.

Having played under John Wright, Prasad has words of praise for the Kiwi but also some criticism: Not enough input to the bowlers. ‘‘He brought in a work ethic but the bowlers need a specialised approach for their problems to be sorted out and that was missing in his tenure’’, Prasad told this paper. ‘‘He did not help out in forming strategies or sorting out opposition players.’’

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So if the next Indian coach is a batsman the team may need the services of a qualified bowling coach to assist the chief coach, since cricket today has become specialised.

It’s a practice followed by most other cricket boards. In England, cricket follows the football model with a chief coach plus a couple of specialists. That role has been filled, over the years, by Graham Gooch, Graham Dilley and John Emburey.

In the case of Australia, the second coach travelling with the team is usually an analyst and is more a general assistant coach rather than someone who specialises in any field. The current incumbent, Tim Nielsen’s job is to collect data and study the opposition.

The West Indies used former fast bowler Courtney Walsh but discontinued the practice. New Zealand makes use of their High Performance Centre (HPC) for all their back-up work and any specialised work. Sri Lanka have used over the years the likes of Champaka Ramanayake and Pramodya Wickremasinghe to work with the bowlers. These coaches would even travel with young fast bowlers to the MRF Pace Foundation.

‘Wright was too cautious’

		• John Wright was not an outstanding coach, Venkatesh Prasad says. “The biggest drawback with John was that he always played safe’’, Prasad told the Express. ‘‘He could have taken more risks, rotated more players and built bench strength. Instead the same regulars were fielded against all opposition, even Zimbabwe and Kenya. Had he brought in fresh faces, our top players would have been mentally and physically fresh for the big battles, he could have prolonged their utility to Indian cricket. Ultimately they were drained out in crucial games.’’ n But he certainly contributed in getting the players to believe in themselves. His greatest contribution, I feel, was in keeping the team together.’’ — ENS

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