By Dr. V.V. Giri
Team India cricket coach Duncan Fletcher faces a dilemma after player power and a lack of discipline helped account for India's 4-0 series loss to England. Former coach Gary Kirsten allowed the senior players to run the team. So was John Wright, few years before.
The general consensus is that Fletcher was appointed as long as he continued with the same coaching style as Gary Kirsten. The senior players wanted that, they wanted Gary to stay on, but when that didn't happen, they wanted a like-for-like replacement.
Gary allowed the senior players and superstars to run the show and do their own thing. But then the team arrived in England totally unprepared, without any dedicated approach and no hunger there. India need a much firmer hand, superstars or not.
Fletcher was now "between a rock and a hard place. If he agreed to go with the Kirsten approach, he can't change now. The situation is crying out for more control and a firm hand, but if he does flex his muscles, the players won't like it and it is unclear whether the board will sanction a different approach.
India could not compete with an England team run by team director Andy Flower.
Flower takes a hard line, he's meticulous on fitness and there are no short cuts and he sets very high standards. The players and management can either buy into it or not be part of the team. He runs a very tight ship and the players have bought into it.
"The England players are technically very good at the moment in all three disciplines of the game. Due to their superior fitness and technical expertise, they have become used to winning, which has made them mentally strong and ruthless in their pursuit of excellence."
India is in dire straits at the moment. They need a coach of Greg Chappell caliber, or in short, they need a “Whip”.
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