02 January,2010 07:15 AM IST | | Clayton Murzello
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's admission that India are missing a bowling coach brings up yet again how much cricket teams depend on personnel who don't have any control of what happens on the field of play.
The game's changed, pundits, who are true believers in having a heavy support staff for an outfit, may feel. And they might be right.
Gary Kirsten bowls in the nets as Zaheer Khan watches. PIC/AFP
Dhoni's comment, made prior to the team's departure to Bangladesh for a tri-series begs the question: Who called for the sacking of erstwhile bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad and fielding coach Robin Singh? Was it coach Gary Kirsten, the very man whose workload Dhoni wants to see reduced or the Board of Control for Cricket in India which did not come up with any explanation for the duo's removal.
One expected South African Kirsten to rope in experts from his country as is the norm with international coaches. Wasn't it Kirsten who insisted on getting Paddy Upton, who was included as Mental and Physical Conditioning coach? Upton now does not have the responsibility of being a fitness trainer. Maybe, he had too much on his plate too.
A member of the squad, who was part of Team India not long ago, says: "If the fielding standards were poor, why wasn't Upton's contribution questioned too since a player needs to be supremely fit to excel as a fielder. It's a fitness issue too."
It is also widely believed that Prasad was doing an excellent job as bowling coach before the Indian bowlers went through a challenging phase. Wonder what has stopped the BCCI from recruiting a new bowling and fielding coach after Robin and Prasad lost their jobs last October. That there were whispers about them not happy with their remuneration is another matter.
"To some extent, it does hurt not having a bowling coach. If you have a specialist coach, he is always interacting with the bowlers and trying to get the best out of them," Dhoni was quoted as saying.
All said and done, it is a serious issue when a captain of an international team comes out in the open to say that his team lacks critical support staff members. One cannot expect an explanation from our cricketing chieftains because they have made it their policy to be as brief as possible when it comes to media statements.
A classic example of this is the one-sentence statement they put out to the media after the pitch fiasco in Delhi. No, it was not about how sorry/angry they were about the entire episode, but the decision to scrap the Grounds and Pitchesu00a0 Committee.
