India Cricket Team Needs Two Coaches, Says Dean Jones; Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid Great Options

Will BCCI appoint Ganguly and Dravid as Team India coaches?

© AFP

Dean Jones has made an out-of-the-box "two-coach" proposal to India's cricket bosses who sit down later this month to choose Duncan Fletcher's replacement. The Zimbabwean, who replaced Gary Kirsten after the 2011 World Cup, ended his tumultuous assignment with BCCI after India bowed out in the semifinals of the World Cup Down Under.

Jones pointed out India have some great options in Sourav Ganguly (for shorter formats like T20s and ODIs) and Rahul Dravid (Tests). The Aussie said Ravi Shastri should be appointed as the high-performance manager, who will oversee everything. This is typically an Australian format. Will it work in India?

India's tryst with foreign coaches has been mixed. Generally, low-profile men have done well in a team where players, across generations, are high on ego. Personality clashes are therefore not uncommon.

While the aggressive Greg Chappell, whose run-ins with Sourav Ganguly are famous, failed to live up to his massive reputation, Kirsten guided India to the World Cup. The South African was happy to remain behind the scenes and let the players enjoy the spotlight. So was John Wright.

Fletcher was a great survivor. After India lost eight Test matches overseas, experts like Sunil Gavaskar wanted the former England coach sacked. But Fletcher completed his full tenure largely due to the support he got from captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Fletcher managed to retain his job after India's horrible show in England last year. Ravi Shastri's appointment as Team Director somewhat clipped Fletcher's wings. Shastri's appointment was reportedly taken without keeping Dhoni in the loop.

Jones suggest India should retain Shastri as a high-performance manager. Australia have a similar position under which a coach (Darren Lehman) works. Shastri was India's director till the World Cup. The new BCCI management may not be willing to retain Shastri in this role and then have a Ganguly and Dravid under him. The equations just don't work.

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Shweta Pandey

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