Why Do India Require A Coach If The Captain Is The Boss: Erapalli Prasanna
Taking a dig at the the Anil Kumble–Virat Kohli rift that ended with the former stepping down as the coach of the Indian team, former India spinner Erapalli Prasanna has said Team India does not need a coach if the skipper can play the role of a ‘boss’.
Kumble, on Tuesday (June 20), dropped a huge bombshell by stepping down as the coach, bringing an end to the episode which began with reports of his differences with captain Kohli. The outgoing coach also confirmed the reports with a post on Twitter, revealing he chose to walk away after being informed of Kohli’s reservations over his style of coaching.
Kumble’s unexpected departure has seen several former cricketers criticising the whole scenario. While batting legend Sunil Gavaskar called it a sad day for Indian cricket, former England captain Michael Vaughan said India had lost a great man in Anil Kumble. Kohli is also facing the heat for his part in Kumble’s unceremonious departure and now Erapalli Prasanna has also taken a dig.
“Why do they require a coach, if the captain is the boss? I don’t think they even need the services of batting or fielding coaches (Sanjay Bangar and R Sridhar),” Prasanna told PTI.
“Kohli is undoubtedly a very good player but I do not know whether he is a good captain or not,” he added.
With a legend like Kumble not getting the respect from the team, Prasanna expressed his apprehensions over how the other coaches of the team manage to express themselves.
“If a legendary cricketer like Anil Kumble is not respected, I do not think neither of them — Bangar and Sridhar — will have the guts to speak to Kohli in a confident way. None of them are as experienced like Kumble,” Prasanna said.
“Just hire somebody for the physical training and that will be enough. If such is the attitude of a captain I don’t think you require a coach,” the legendary spinner said.
“We can go back to the good old days of appointing a manager to look after the logistics, if he (Kohli) takes up the responsibility. The role of a coach is not defined,” he added.
Meanwhile, the BCCI has decided to invite more applicants for the coach’s post; They have advertised for the post last month and had received applications from Virender Sehwag, Tom Moody, Dodda Ganesh, Lalchand Rajput and Richard Pybus.
Prasanna further suggested that the selectors need to look beyond senior players MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh and search out for some young replacements. Earlier this month, former India skipper Rahul Dravid had also said the selectors should reassess the role of both the players for the next World Cup.
“I don’t think they will be able to continue till the next World Cup in 2019, they will be 38 then. We need fresh and young legs and players who are extremely agile,” he said.
“Okay, Dhoni will be the wicketkeeper but Yuvraj is going to be a liability as a fielder. In fact, the selectors should have tried out more youngsters for this West Indies tour, as they are one of the weakest teams at the moment,” he added.
