India Team Discussion

[icyman]

Chappell and Kumble's tenures had strong personalities within the dressing room and ready-made captaincy candidates were available back then. This led to a bit of friction back then.

In the current setup, the board has been unable to identify a worthy successor to Rohit. Post the WT20, you will head into a scenario where Rohit is on the way out, without anyone taking centre stage. We do not have a strong all-format captain who can be relied upon for a year or two. With Dravid, we saw a game of musical charis being played in every tournament. The new coach- if he is a subdued figure, will probably cave into the whims and fancies of each captain he works with. This wont translate into results, let alone ICC trophies.

What the BCCI needs to do is to figure out what they want from the coach here. Do they simply need another YES man, who will act as a team manager? If that is the case, let MSD handle the team and enjoy long vacations. If they need strategizing and someone who wants to win- then they need to engage in a proper search. If they want to keep adhering to their favourite buzz word- process, they might as well name VVS as coach.

I firmly believe the team will progress under either of Gambhir/ Bayliss or Ponting. Edit: Ponting seems to have said no on account of longer travelling times. However, if they are serious about him, they would end up splitting the role into 2.

 

[wasteyouryouth]

I'm surprised to have seen any talk of Chandrakant Pandit. Seems like he knows how to win trophies. Is he not a big enough name? (not that it should make a difference).

 

[icyman]

I'm surprised to have seen any talk of Chandrakant Pandit. Seems like he knows how to win trophies. Is he not a big enough name? (not that it should make a difference).

If Gambhir comes in as Head Coach, expect him as Assistant. Another task master. There are 2 other Indians who havent been given their dues- one being Hrishikesh Kanitkar, who has done a stellar job with the U-19s and the Women's teams. I do see him taking on the Indian role a little later.

Another person, who has been forgotten is Lalchand Rajput. Rajput was the one in charge when we won the WT20 in 2007 + CB Series. Doesn't seem to get enough credit for picking up the pieces post the Chappell era.

 

[Fenil]

If Gambhir comes in as Head Coach, expect him as Assistant. Another task master. There are 2 other Indians who havent been given their dues- one being Hrishikesh Kanitkar, who has done a stellar job with the U-19s and the Women's teams. I do see him taking on the Indian role a little later.

Another person, who has been forgotten is Lalchand Rajput. Rajput was the one in charge when we won the WT20 in 2007 + CB Series. Doesn't seem to get enough credit for picking up the pieces post the Chappell era.

I haven't followed Kanitkar's journey but Lalchand Rajput... Good ol' memories... He was done dirty by BCCI. The guy stuck a newbie team together. As much as Dhoni gets credit for just existing, Lalchand deserves the credit for binding a team of newbies together particularly when the team with all the senior stalwarts failed miserably earlier the same year. That T20I WC changed BCCI's stance towards the format forever. I remember BCCI were against T20 before India won the WC. Even IPL was started to curb the talent loss to ICL which was joined by many Indian domestic budding stars and even International players.

All said and done, I don't think BCCI even remembers the guy.

 

[Viper.]

So, that's like 13 years ago, right? My post clearly mentioned 12 years.

When you own a stake of that franchise, would you play for someone else?

Its crazy that a kid born when India won the WC last is old enough to be on social media and this forum too

I'm surprised to have seen any talk of Chandrakant Pandit. Seems like he knows how to win trophies. Is he not a big enough name? (not that it should make a difference).

Wasn't he recently accused of being partial and unfair to Shashank Singh or Ashutosh Sharma (I don't remember who) in domestics?

 

[Fenil]

Its crazy that a kid born when India won the WC last is old enough to be on social media and this forum too


Wasn't he recently accused of being partial and unfair to Shashank Singh or Ashutosh Sharma (I don't remember who) in domestics?

IIRC, it was Ashutosh but then Pandit created a team to fight too. Could be a case of inconsistent performances of better players at the time say when Virat preferred a settled senior Ajinkya Rahane over Karun Nair (who scored a triple century in Ajinkya's absence only to fall off the radar due to subsequent inconsistent performances).

 

[cricfan123]

Which player will India team raise in the air when they win the world cup in July messi like, virat Kholi who else guys.

 

[icyman]

Which player will India team raise in the air when they win the world cup in July messi like, virat Kholi who else guys.

Yuzi Chahal, cause he seems to be the most light weight of them all...

 

[Bevab]

I'm surprised to have seen any talk of Chandrakant Pandit. Seems like he knows how to win trophies. Is he not a big enough name? (not that it should make a difference).

He’s got a reputation for being a bit of a knobhead to work with and that’s me underplaying it by a significant margin.

It works when you’re at unheralded Ranji teams where you can do what you want with little repercussions since you’re the big name but the further higher up you go the less likely you are to escape scrutiny. It’s not a coincidence that KKR looked underwhelming last season under his management and that they’ve bounced back this season largely because Gauti seems to have become the team’s manager whilst Pandit has stuck to a strictly coaching role.

I don’t think he’s doomed to fail should he be picked given that I wanted him as the coach ahead of other names in the past since the talent pool is wide enough that he can antagonise a few players and still have capable replacements around to make the losses not matter. However I’m not sure if the BCCI or Pandit would be willing to relinquish major control to one party.

If Gambhir comes in as Head Coach, expect him as Assistant. Another task master. There are 2 other Indians who havent been given their dues- one being Hrishikesh Kanitkar, who has done a stellar job with the U-19s and the Women's teams. I do see him taking on the Indian role a little later.

Another person, who has been forgotten is Lalchand Rajput. Rajput was the one in charge when we won the WT20 in 2007 + CB Series. Doesn't seem to get enough credit for picking up the pieces post the Chappell era.

I would be shocked if the bloke who has been a head coach for most of his career would take up an assistant role at his age, even if it is with the national side. The only way he does that is if he’s promised to get the role next….

…which does give me an interesting idea. Appoint Pandit as the head coach and Gambhir as the team manager, replicating the current KKR structure. This does lie on Pandit accepting a reduced role but I think he can be swayed if it means he gets full control over the coaching aspects of it. Pandit’s biggest strengths are player development, setting a side up and instilling a winning mentality. Having him be limited to a behind the scenes role would lessen the potential damage he is likely to cause if he was the sole figure.

As for Rajput the last I remember of him was coaching Zimbabwe and failing miserably if I’m right. I do find it weird that barring Rajput, the last domestic coach we had with limited international experience was…. PR Man Singh back in the 80s. Reeks of the entire setup still being a mixture of an old boys’ club and political figures unfortunately.

 

[icyman]

Appoint Pandit as the head coach and Gambhir as the team manager, replicating the current KKR structure. This does lie on Pandit accepting a reduced role but I think he can be swayed if it means he gets full control over the coaching aspects of it. Pandit’s biggest strengths are player development, setting a side up and instilling a winning mentality. Having him be limited to a behind the scenes role would lessen the potential damage he is likely to cause if he was the sole figure.

Not a bad idea tbh. He will ultimately have to report into Gambhir. Doubt Gambhir is a person who cares for designations here. Under the current coaching setup, Gambhir as Head Coach and Pandit as Batting/Assistant might be the way forth.

Alternatively, as you mention, Gambhir as Director of Cricket with Pandit as Head Coach + couple others depending upon the format can work too.

As for Rajput the last I remember of him was coaching Zimbabwe and failing miserably if I’m right. I do find it weird that barring Rajput, the last domestic coach we had with limited international experience was…. PR Man Singh back in the 80s. Reeks of the entire setup still being a mixture of an old boys’ club and political figures unfortunately.

In all fairness, Rajput was chosen at that time, as no one else was willing to take on the responsibility. India had fared poorly in WI CWC 2007. Ravi Shastri took over for the Bangladesh series right after the CWC debacle. Don't think any other Indian name was willing to take on, especially after Ford declined the then BCCI offer. (very surprising, but all turned out to be good for India)

 

[icyman]

Selfish Kohli asked for rest again. Such people who don't care for the nation ought to be dropped straightaway.

He missed his 5 match series cause of his wife's pregnancy but played all games of the IPL. Now he wants to miss the practice game. Hats off! Thankfully he is no longer the captain.

 

[SaiSrini]

Selfish Kohli asked for rest again. Such people who don't care for the nation ought to be dropped straightaway.

He missed his 5 match series cause of his wife's pregnancy but played all games of the IPL. Now he wants to miss the practice game. Hats off! Thankfully he is no longer the captain.

My opinion is, He should not have been picked for the T20 WC squad itself. Now that you’ve made him feel ‘indispensable’, live with the choices he makes.

Also, are you seriously questioning his need to be there for his child birth? That’s important, man. And coincidentally IPL happens right after that, for which he was ready. He’s still going to the WC. What’s the issue?

Ps: I’ll not add to the stupid ‘nation’ narrative, on which I’ve spoken a lot. It’s bullshit, and I’m happy Kohli is ruffling feathers there.

 

[icyman]

The Shreyas Iyer captaincy circus has begun. Doesn't surprise me. While deserves the leadership of the Indian team, it is cringe worthy seeing the likes of MSK Prasad claiming that his selection committee was grooming Shreyas for the India role. However, that came to a full stop with his injury. Few major flaws with that statement:

1. MSK claims Iyer went through the process and led India A etc. So, did Abhimanyu Easwaran and Priyank Panchal. Were they also in the reckoning?
2. MSK's tenure ended in March 2020. Iyer's injury happened in March 2021. Iyer was never a vice-captain under MSK's committee
3. MSK is known for making weird 3D & 4D statements.

My opinion is, He should not have been picked for the T20 WC squad itself. Now that you’ve made him feel ‘indispensable’, live with the choices he makes.

True. Will be his last anyway,

Also, are you seriously questioning his need to be there for his child birth? That’s important, man. And coincidentally IPL happens right after that, for which he was ready. He’s still going to the WC. What’s the issue?

5 Test matches? He disappeared during the Australia series in 2020 for 3 games, but this time he took off for 5 straight Tests. Please enlighten me as to which organization affords this kind of leave to parents-to-be?

The issue I have is that he is picking and choosing games as though he is above the game. You take off for 5 Tests and try to walk in to the side, which you do. But the again, you consider yourself so above the game, that you decide not to play a measly practice game? He has called for rest from the board after playing 14 straight games for a 3rd rate team that has been unable to win anything in the past 16 years.

SRT, Dravid, Ganguly never skipped India games. And please dont bring up that we play more cricket. Kohli's loyalties clearly lie with the franchisee over anything else.

Ps: I’ll not add to the stupid ‘nation’ narrative, on which I’ve spoken a lot. It’s bullshit, and I’m happy Kohli is ruffling feathers there.

It is your personal choice mate. If this guy doesn't want to play for the country, he is free to take his wares somewhere else. India will have another fellow waiting in the wings. Nation, patriotism may not mean much to you, but it still does, to many others. I'd hazard a guess by saying 70% of Indians will still care about national games over anything else.

 

[Bevab]

https://www.cricket.com.au/news/4028658/

Ban these uncaring players I say! Leaving their team to be forced to field support staff as fielders? Utterly pathetic!

Ban the uncaring teams like New Zealand who refuse to even play prestigious warm-ups I say! While we’re at it, also ban South Africa for trying to circumvent the prestigious warm-up etiquette by playing an intra-squad friendly I say!

 

[Bevab]

My opinion is, He should not have been picked for the T20 WC squad itself. Now that you’ve made him feel ‘indispensable’, live with the choices he makes.

Also, are you seriously questioning his need to be there for his child birth? That’s important, man. And coincidentally IPL happens right after that, for which he was ready. He’s still going to the WC. What’s the issue?

Ps: I’ll not add to the stupid ‘nation’ narrative, on which I’ve spoken a lot. It’s bullshit, and I’m happy Kohli is ruffling feathers there.

It would have been weird to only omit him amongst the seniors after he finished as the top scorer in the IPL having also worked on some of the biggest criticisms directed towards his game with the background of him being the top scorer and one of the best batters in the last WC (not to mention his excellent record in T20I WCs) and I say this as someone who would have preferred a good clear-out for this tournament.

My solution to the paternity leave issue is that every Indian player called up for the first time should get a vasectomy done by a BCCI approved surgeon to avoid such pesky and trivial issues of childbirth. Once they’re retired they can think of families and get it reversed, how does that sound eh?