Former off-spinner feels trio of Ganguly, laxman & Tendulkar should have handled coach appointment better
Former India off-spinner Erapalli Prasanna on Thursday said he is "disappointed" with the three-member Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) — comprising Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS laxman — for dilly-dallying over choosing the national cricket team's new coach.
On Tuesday, news broke first that Ravi Shastri had been named the India coach but hours later Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Acting Secretary Amitabh Choudhary denied the same.
later that day, Shastri was officially announced as the coach along with Zaheer Khan as bowling consultant and Rahul Dravid as overseas batting consultant.
Miffed with the actions of the CAC, Prasanna said there was no need of theatrics and the trio could have directly named Shastri, as he was the obvious choice.
"There was no need for such drama. Shastri was always going to be the choice," Prasanna told IANS over phone.
"I am disappointed with the CAC. They are three legendary cricketers and they should not have taken such a long time to name the coach. A consensus should have been reached, and from what I have been reading, they could not come to a unanimous decision and it was all done at the last minute," said Prasanna, who was part of the famed spin quartet also involving Srinivas Venkataraghavan, Bhagwat Chandrasekhar and Bishen Singh Bedi.
Prasanna, 77, felt that the CAC should have defined the roles of the new additions to the coaching staff more accurately, adding that Shastri is just a team manager and that "coach" is just a name.
"His job will be team management. Coach is just a word. It is just a position in the team. In my opinion, there is no need for a coach," the former spin great said.
"The CAC should have defined roles of Zaheer and Dravid better. I don't know whether Sanjay Bangar will still remain the batting coach or not. The job they did, at the end, BCCI could have done the same. Why need a CAC thenIJ"
Prasanna signed off by hinting that the skipper has the right to have a say in selecting the coach as it is he who is accountable for the team's results. "The captain is responsible for how the game is played. He is accountable. On the field, he calls the shots so he has some say," Prasanna said.
Zaheer's appointment tour specific
The BCCI on Thursday made it clear that Zaheer Khan's appointment as bowling consultant of the Indian cricket team is also tour specific, just like batting consultant Rahul Dravid.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India also said that the appointment of both Zaheer and Dravid was done after consulting new head coach Ravi Shastri. "The recommendation for Mr Ravi Shastri was made on the merit of his presentation and the vision that he projected for taking the team to greater heights. After taking the decision on his selection, the CAC consulted him and decided on having Batting and Bowling consultants on overseas tour-to-tour basis, as per the requirement of the team," the release added.
CAC writes to COA chief Vinod Rai
The Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) on Thursday shot a letter to COA chief Vinod Rai, expressing "pain" at the perception that appointments of Rahul Dravid and Zaheer Khan were forced upon head coach Ravi Shastri.
"We spoke to Mr Shastri about getting Mr Khan and Mr Dravid on board in these capacities, and he readily agreed to the idea of having them in the set-up so that it would benefit the team and Indian cricket as a whole in time to come. It was only after getting Mr Shastri's consent that we also recommended Mr Khan and Mr Dravid, in their respective capacities," the letter, a copy of which is with PTI, read.
The legendary trio reminded Rai of an e-mail where he had apparently given them a free-hand in picking the coach of the Indian cricket team. "There have been suggestions that the CAC has exceeded its ambit in going with MR Khan and Mr Dravid and these two legends of Indian cricket has been foisted on the head coach. Also we did inform you (Rai) over the phone along with Rahul Johri and Amitabh Choudhary of all that transpired immediately after the meeting was over."
In the beginning of the letter the CAC expressed its anguish. "You will be aware that we put our heart and soul into the process, approaching a task made delicate by the recent developments with a clear head and with soul aim of providing Indian team with best resources possible to become world beaters they are capable of being. It has both pained and disappointed us, therefore, to see the light in which the CAC has been portrayed in various sections of the media," the letter read.
That the legends were deeply hurt was palpable where they urged Rai to "come public" with transparency of the system. "It is our desire that you come public about the transparency of the process of identifying the next head coach so that the falsehoods are put to bed."
Their anger and disgust came out while concluding the letter. "As we have outlined, that (forcing Zaheer and Dravid on Shastri) is not the case, it is imperative that the cricket-loving public at large is made aware of the reality. We could do it ourselves, of course, but we don't want to further queer the pitch. So we would respectfully request you to clear the air and set the record straight in this regard," the penultimate paragraph read. They concluded with another strongly worded paragraph. "The three of us played our cricket with great integrity, and we have brought that same trait in fulfilling this important responsibility bestowed upon us by the BCCI. While we are not looking for plaudits, we do not appreciate the tone and the falsehoods of the narratives."