When we have Kapil,why should we turn to Simons?

Binny feels there are better homegrown stalwarts to look after young bowlers and groom talents.

The Indians may have found their winning touch,albeit in the practice games leading into the ODI series,and may have regrouped for the first time on this debacle of an England tour,but the 4-0 Test whitewash still seems to be fresh in the minds of the critics back home in India. While every player from legendary batsmen to the revered captain have faced the stick from former greats in the days gone by,the focus of the criticism has now shifted to the bowling coach,South African Eric Simons.

Simons has come under severe criticism from Roger Binny,an all-rounder who knows a thing or two about bowling in English conditions. Being the highest wicket-taker of the 1983 World Cup,Binny had made his bones in the swing-friendly English conditions,and he believes that the Indian pacers did not learn from their mistakes over the course of the series. That by itself is hanging evidence against Simons,Team Indias pace mentor.

During our playing days there was hardly any support staff around. We had to use our experience and cricketing IQ to get better. Now there is a bowling coach to specifically look after the bowlers. What was he doing? questioned Binny,while speaking to The Indian Express.

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Binny feels that had Simons helped the bowlers to concentrate of seam movement rather than swing,the Indian pace attack would have derived much better results from the tour.

They (Indian bowlers) made a basic mistake. In English conditions the ball will move in the air. Any bowler worth his salt will swing the ball. But its more important to move the ball off the wicket, Binny said. The Indian bowlers didnt use the seam at all and kept on repeating the mistake for all four Tests. In England,you get good purchase if you hit the deck at good length and use cutters properly.

Binny is of the opinion that there are better homegrown stalwarts to look after the young bowlers and groom talents. We have Kapil Dev. Why should we seek the help from the Simons and others? Who better than Kapil to teach the finer points of fast bowling? The problem is,we perhaps dont respect the abilities of our former cricketers.

Former cricketers or not,Binny prophesises that without constant monitoring,the current Indian quicks will rapidly slip into oblivion.

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Praveen is not a strike bowler,not with that pace. Ishant is lively but not quick enough to bowl the Michael Holding-length. Sreesanth was the biggest disappointment. These youngsters are our future,but the lack of constant guidance and monitoring did them in.

But will a good show in the ODI series help India parry some of the bad press? No,is Binnys answer. Its very difficult to regroup after such a drubbing. England are on a high and the momentum is clearly with them.

The former Karnataka all-rounder feels that the current problem is strikingly reminiscent of the 1983 team that lost its way after the World Cup. The answer,feels Binny,is to completely overhaul the system,and make drastic changes to the squads composition.

We faced similar situation after our World Cup win. West Indies came here and gave us a hiding. Then there was some change in the team. Sunil Gavaskar replaced Kapil as captain. Azharuddin made his debut during the home series against England and he made a big difference, says Binny. We went on to win the World Series Cricket in Australia. Then beat Pakistan in Sharjah despite being bundled out for 125. And we beat England on their own patch. This team too needs some fresh faces.

Binny,chief selector?

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Meanwhile,Binny has been nominated by the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) for the chief selectors post. Initially,the BCCI was keen to retain the old panel led by Krishnamachari Srikkanth barring Yashpal Sharma,who has finished his four-year term. But now they are under pressure post the whitewash to change the committee.

According to sources,a few other state associations are in for a change. If rumours are to be believed,the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) has already nominated former India and Bengal opener Debang Gandhi as their candidate from East Zone.