With Greg Chappell achieving a KO against Ganguly, after some initial seismic turbulence, coaches are suddenly hot and happening. They never had it so good in Indian cricket.
At the top level there is the foreign angle, with Chappell holding the most coveted cricket job in the world. And just as MNC's rushed into India with economic liberalisation, other cricket professionals are looking at the great Indian cricket market. Intikhab hopped across the LOC last year and now Darren Holder is in charge in Pune.
More will shortly arrive because of strong demand, and especially because local talent is not as good. Critics object to this invasion, feel Indian pride is being injured, but these arguments collapse in an interconnected world where quality and skills matter more than sentiment.
The real boom for coaches is at the first-class level. Five years back Ranji sides had managers who knew little and did even less. These favoured officials were simply gifted a comfortable chut ti. Those days are past, and to appear modern and professional, cricket teams are increasingly appointing specialised coaches.
Many states have chosen their past players (Madan Lal, Vijay Yadav, Bharath Arun, Jeswant, Rajinder Singh Hans) but more interesting is the movement of professionals across states. Chandu Pandit has shifted to Pune from Mumbai in place of Paras Mhambre, who has gone to Bengal, whose coach Ghavri returns to Mumbai. Balwinder Sandhu is the new man in Baroda, Parath Sharma has been hired by Kashmir, Anshuman Gaekwad remains in Gujarat, not Baroda. Rajasthan, swimming against the tide, have Ajay Jadeja as coach and captain for the season. The service conditions of coaches varies, and so does their job profile. Their CTC (cost to company) is between Rs 3 to Rs 6 lakh, most have limited say in team selection and their appointment -- like the BCCI election -- is on an annual basis. Some coaches have acquired professional expertise by clearing the level 2 and 3 certificate courses but usually their only qualification is experience.
Currently, the role of coaches is evolving. They are peripheral players expected only to train the team and supervise practice. As organisers and facilitators, not technical/strategy experts, they ensure the pitch is prepared, and there are sufficient balls and bowlers during nets. The days of football-style club supremos who decide policy and hire players are long gone.
{{/usCountry}}Currently, the role of coaches is evolving. They are peripheral players expected only to train the team and supervise practice. As organisers and facilitators, not technical/strategy experts, they ensure the pitch is prepared, and there are sufficient balls and bowlers during nets. The days of football-style club supremos who decide policy and hire players are long gone.
{{/usCountry}}This is because state associations will not relinquish power in these matters, and coaches of stature are not available to play out such an extended role. While many ex-players are remarkably astute and very much on the ball, communication skills and being technology-friendly pose a big challenge. They understand all that goes on on a cricket field but are stumped when required to get across coherently to a group of 20. Champions who defeated doosras and reverse-swing are helpless when asked to switch on a laptop, or sort out the backliftz using a hand-held video camera.