Out of the spotlight, Buchanan doesn146;t mind the scanner

Kolkata Knight Riders and former Australian coach John Buchanan8217;s view that 8216;leaders...

Kolkata Knight Riders and former Australian coach John Buchanan8217;s view that 8216;leaders, managers and coaches need to take people where they have never been before8217; aptly goes with his eight-year-long stint with the Australian side which made it a habit of rewriting cricket history every now and then. But now that things have changed and more importantly the game itself has changed, results too are varying, at times shocking, especially with the Kolkata Knight Riders8212;seven losses out of 13 games that has seen them bow out of the Indian Premier League.

Buchanan, though, isn8217;t overtly bothered by it and perceives this as part of a 8216;long-term process8217; that8217;s underway. 8220;IPL is providing an opportunity for franchises to take the game to a new level where they can be identified as a sport8217;s biggest endorser. And this is only the first step in a process which should not be compromised upon, with the result going into the next season,8221; Buchanan said at the promotion of his book If Better Is Possible on Friday.

The bespectacled Aussie is not shy of taking the blame, pointing that the team8217;s performance also depends on the coach8217;s usefulness to it. 8220;A coach shouldn8217;t be too hurt if he is shown the door, 8221; he said. 8220;In that case he should take heart from the fact that the decision was for the betterment of the team and that his method was only mistimed, not wrong.8221;

Conversely, he identifies another of those all-important roles of a coach her8212; that of being a motivator. 8220;My main aim is to provide the best possible atmosphere for the individual depending on my reading of his mental state. This is one of the biggest challenges for a coach as the eagerness to give 100 per cent, irrespective of the circumstances, stems from it.8221;

Many of such counterweighing arguments that often recall the pragmatism associated with Buchanan8217;s name might adorn his book that8217;s already being hailed as a powerful coaching manual 8212; resulting in it being translated into many Indian languages.

Now that his side has only one game to play and that too for pride, he awaits the next season with a lot of changes to consider, but not before a microscopic postmortem is undertaken by the franchise owners that might include a cross-section of his efficacy as well.