Support staff comes under scanner

“As the camp for the probables got underway in Bangalore, the Board decided that this panel will closely follow the performance of the Indian team in the first two series (the Sri Lanka tri-nation series and the tour of Zimbabwe). After that, the panel will sit together and assess the role and performance of the support staff in the first two series after Chappell became the coach,” said the BCCI joint-secretary Goutam Dasgupta.

The BCCI joint-secretary explained that it was decided to stick to the same six-man panel for the new assessment job.

“This same committee had selected the coach in May. So, it makes sense to let them do this job since they will keep track of the team’s performance right from the time the new coach was appointed.”

This means the recruits to the Team India support staff, trainer Gregory King, physiotherapist John Gloster, and temporary inductions Charles Krebbs, kinesiologist and sports scientist Ian Frazer, have been under the scanner during the Sri Lanka tour, and will be reviewed closely during Zimbabwe tour too.

Dasugupta, however, did not disclose whether the appraisal will depend upon the team performance or their individual contributions, which are specialised in nature.

Interestingly, the new plan of asking the panel to monitor the influence and role of the support staff was initially slated for a review as soon as one-day tournament in Sri Lanka finished. Later, the Board decided to give the support staff some more time to prove themselves, which led to the Zimbabwe series being included in the first review.