Indian cricket has not yet moved on from the Anil Kumble-Virat Kohli fiasco and even as Kohli stayed put, Kumble had to step away.
The age-old question has once again reared its head: Why is the coach forced to quit even as the captain has the final word and stays on?
Successful teams over the years have always had a cordial relationship between the coach and captain and even if there are few differences, the interests of the team have always taken centre stage and all ill-will has been buried.
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However, there is also this question which has always been asked: Is a coach really needed in cricket?
We delve deeper into the issue and churn out 5 points which argue that cricket is a game all about the captain and that the coach could be done away with!
Also read: Sunil Gavaskar feels Ravi Shastri is likely to get India coach job
#1 Captain runs the team
Unlike football, a cricket team rotates around the captain and the person present on the field calls the shots, devises strategies on the fly and gauges the pace and drift of the game.
As such, a coach can only act as a liability since he is not present on the field to understand how and when the game is proceeding and what tactics should be employed to break open the game.
#2 Decisions off the field
People would argue that the coach forms the brains behind the scenes and when the team formulates strategies after the day's play, the role of the coach assumes importance.
Not exactly!
The job of the captain is not to merely set the fields on the field, but he has to sit down with the players even after the day’s play and discuss strategies as it not only builds trust but also allows the players to be very comfortable with the captain and this can only help when the team walks out on the field.
#3 Analysis can be done by the technical team
The pro-coach camp would jump and down and would say that the coach sits down and studies the players and the opposition and comes up with tactics accordingly.
But then, what is the other support staff doing, people with laptops who analyse and dissect every player both from his team and the opposition. They can study all they want and pass on suggestions to the team and the captain.
The players are well versed with their game and they would be the best judge of their game and in order to survive the ordeals of the International game, they will have to imbibe all the suggestions if they deem them to be useful.
#4 Would avoid friction
Let us go back to the Kumble-Kohli crisis. Both men were strong minded and only wanted the Indian team to succeed and hence their ideas were bound to collide and create friction.
As it is the captain has to deal with all the media pressure and is accountable for the team, this crisis can be easily averted if he is given a single hand and is allowed to function according to the way he thinks best.
And this by no means is saying that the captain should be above the rest, he can always take advice fro senior players on the field and can always assemble his team all around him and speak to them without any filter. Every team knows what mistakes they are committing, a third person does not pluck out any things out of the ordinary!
#5 International players are ready; coaches can train the younger lot at the grassroots
Coaches are important, but at the International level, players more often than not know their games inside out. To ask an established player to tweak his technique altogether at the highest level would be detrimental to both the player and the team.
Coaches can impart all the knowledge at the grassroots and to teams like Under-19 and A teams where the players are still learning the art and are not well versed with the rigours of International cricket.
If a Virat Kohli has to be dependent on Kumble to guide his team, the team needs to look at a new captain. The skipper has to always be pro-active, for if he is bereft of ideas, his team is in trouble.
He has to take the team ahead with him, the coach guiding the team at best is a theory I do not understand.
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