[PPS]

I guess we will hear more of Ravi Shastri in the commentary box now that Kumble has been appointed as coach! Honestly, i am a bit surprised by this decision considering Kumble doesn't have any past experience as a coach. Was expecting Ravi Shastri to bag the job.

[mukul32]

Originally Posted by PPS

I guess we will hear more of Ravi Shastri in the commentary box now that Kumble has been appointed as coach! Honestly, i am a bit surprised by this decision considering Kumble doesn't have any past experience as a coach. Was expecting Ravi Shastri to bag the job.

Reportedly, the recommendation committee of Tendulkar, Ganguly and Laxman was mighty impressed with the presentation Kumble made to them in the interview. He definitely must have touched upon a lot of critical points and presented a definite future plan for them to have such confidence in him. I am all for Kumble becoming the new coach. His presence would be critical for two things - the recent lack of bite in our spinners in unsuitable conditions, and the weakening technique of Indian batsmen against spin in spin friendly conditions.
Ravi Ashwin must be doing lungi dance in his house right now!

[NPV]

I think this is a good thing for Indian cricket with Kumble being named the chief coach. We now have someone with a proven cricketing record and a good brain to match it not to mention good leadership skills. Some people are still arguing about his lack of "coaching" skills but then the Coach of the indian team is actually a misnomer for this position since the role is to really fine tune skills of players, boost morale, help with strategy for the team, team selection with the right combination as situation demands, grooming youngsters, building the team for the future

Yes, Kumble may fail in his role but definitely deserves a chance!
I'm not in favour of the short tenure of just 1 year that is offered to him, 3 years would have been a much better period for someone to show real progress.

[Oxy]

In my opinion this is an atrocious appointment.

Tendulkar was in the committee, so he should have known that Kapil Dev as a coach did not end well for India when he was the captain back in the 90s. Great players don't necessarily make great coaches.

With all the money the BCCI has, they could have hired the best of the best. I am glad Kumble's contract is for one year only. I would be happy to be proven wrong and I really wish him all the success.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by Oxy

Tendulkar was in the committee, so he should have known that Kapil Dev as a coach did not end well for India when he was the captain back in the 90s. Great players don't necessarily make great coaches.

I think it is unfair to compare the Kapil Dev situation with the Kumble situation now. Also, why should that analogy or comparison hold good now for Kumble to fail ?
We will know in the course of the next year how this pans out

Also, having tried foreign coaches in the past with mixed success and failure I think there is absolutely no need to presume foreign coaches are the best, definitely we have good coaches in our country and all the more better if they're past players who have excelled in the game.

[Oxy]

Originally Posted by NPV

I think it is unfair to compare the Kapil Dev situation with the Kumble situation now. Also, why should that analogy or comparison hold good now for Kumble to fail ?
We will know in the course of the next year how this pans out

Also, having tried foreign coaches in the past with mixed success and failure I think there is absolutely no need to presume foreign coaches are the best, definitely we have good coaches in our country and all the more better if they're past players who have excelled in the game.

My point is that Kumble has zero coaching experience. He may have been a great player but that does not make him a great coach. Hence the Kapil Dev example.

I would have preferred someone with some coaching credentials and experience.

[landcruiser123]

Originally Posted by NPV

We will know in the course of the next year how this pans out

Kumble will succeed in his first year. He's a mentally strong character and would have tremendous inputs.

Considering we're playing most tests in India for the 16 months, it'll be an easy task. I don't consider the upcoming test series in WI as a test at all. It'll be a shame if we don't win 2-0.

I want to see is Ashwin as a improved bowler in Aus, Eng, NZ and SA. He's struggled in test matches in those countries. Kumble can surely teach him a lot.

[mukul32]

Originally Posted by Oxy

My point is that Kumble has zero coaching experience. He may have been a great player but that does not make him a great coach. Hence the Kapil Dev example.
I would have preferred someone with some coaching credentials and experience.

More than outright experience, I would say being the right kind of person to mentor a team matters far more. Coaches like Mickey Arthur have had a lot of experience with high quality sides. How far did he improve from it? Australia fired him and moved to new heights under Lehmann.
If Kumble can connect to the players and analyze their problems better than the foreigners or the oldies, he'd make an excellent coach for the team. He already has a great cricketing mind, which is an absolute necessity, and doesn't over rely on statistics like the English love to.

[vamsi.kona]

I believe the role of a coach is more about man management than fine tuning the skills of the players. We anyway have a separate bowling and fielding coach. The young players need psychological support and leadership, which I believe Kumble can excel in as he has displayed during the 2008 Australia series.

Also some young lads who think of themselves as superstars after 1 good series etc would find his presence in the dressing room as a proper restraint.

[carboy]

Originally Posted by mukul32

the recent lack of bite in our spinners in unsuitable conditions,

Recent?

This has been true since the early 90s.

Originally Posted by Oxy

My point is that Kumble has zero coaching experience. He may have been a great player but that does not make him a great coach. Hence the Kapil Dev example.

I would have preferred someone with some coaching credentials and experience.

I agree. It's beyond silly. A manager is one thing. But a coach is different. Other than India and Zimbabwe, I don't think anyone has a coach who is planning to learning coaching on the job.

[srishiva]

Originally Posted by Oxy

In my opinion this is an atrocious appointment.

Tendulkar was in the committee, so he should have known that Kapil Dev as a coach did not end well for India when he was the captain back in the 90s. Great players don't necessarily make great coaches.

With all the money the BCCI has, they could have hired the best of the best. I am glad Kumble's contract is for one year only. I would be happy to be proven wrong and I really wish him all the success.

I think Kumble would have better soft skills in putting across any expertise and managing the team.
Not all great players can become good coaches and if some can, I think Kumble can or he will not stick around himself.

[msdivy]

Gary Kirsten didn't have any coaching experience. Greg Chappell had more coaching experience than John Wright. Duncan Fletcher had the best coaching experience, having coached an International team before. The team was without a coach for last 2 years.

Performance was more of less same during this period, except when captain & coach had public spat (Ganguly-Chappell). So it doesn't matter who is the coach of Indian team, as long as captain & coach don't express their differences in public .

[carboy]

Originally Posted by msdivy

Gary Kirsten didn't have any coaching experience.

Kirsten setup and ran his Cricket Academy before he coached India.

[KK_HakunaMatata]

Originally Posted by msdivy

Gary Kirsten didn't have any coaching experience. Greg Chappell had more coaching experience than John Wright. Duncan Fletcher had the best coaching experience, having coached an International team before. The team was without a coach for last 2 years.

Performance was more of less same during this period, except when captain & coach had public spat (Ganguly-Chappell). So it doesn't matter who is the coach of Indian team, as long as captain & coach don't express their differences in public .

Agree with you. National level players already have been playing cricket for years together and they need coach to mainly fine tune their skills. I think national team does not need a coach to teach them how to play cricket, so to that extent, coaching is more of man management, to bring positive morale in the team.

Originally Posted by carboy

Kirsten setup and ran his Cricket Academy before he coached India.

For information Kumble runs an academy Tenvic Sports.

http://home.tenvicsports.com/cricket.html

[carboy]

Originally Posted by KK_HakunaMatata

For information Kumble runs an academy Tenvic Sports.

Didn't know that. That's good, I guess. However, Tenvic also seems to be an agent for cricket players - won't that lead to a massive conflict of interest?