Fenil
PC Cricket Leagues Legend
- Joined
- Jan 1, 2011
Unpopular opinion:
I see the bandwagon that Rahul Dravid needs to go and how bad he has been as a coach in terms of results.
Lets not forget that he was the one who overhauled the junior teams and gave us brilliant players at the U-19 and India A level be it Shaw, Jaiswal, Gill, Nagarkoti, Iyer, KL Rahul (he started off as a defensive wicket keeper batsman in his early days) Pant, Shivam Mavi et all and it was under him that we saw a killer instinct in the players at this level which means he was doing something right. We were all going gaga over his coaching ability and how he spurred a new energy and also the skill that was on display by the junior sides was a breath of fresh air.
He has been there and done that for years in the senior Indian cricket team and knows how tall the egos of some players can be which could be a reason why he was even vocal about how he wanted to stick to coaching the U-19 and 'A' side. On the contrary, Ravi Shastri was hardly seen REALLY coaching or talking anything about skills and execution in the middle barring instance few and far in between and basically was a 'yes man' of the captain/selection committee and looked as if major part of his work was just to be seen around the team doing nothing when is not chugging alcohol while the captain/selection committee called all the shots and frankly it worked quite well. There was a reason why Kumble was axed as a coach - because he was vocal about his own thoughts which collided with the egos of certain senior players - and why the 'yes man' was drafted in for the role.
What I am trying to suggest is that the players might think of themselves as way too big to get the tips from Dravid. I think the fans here are mistaking him as a defensive coach just because he was a defensive batsman. I would like to refresh the memories of such people that Dravid was the one who brought the aggressiveness in the junior side especially at the U-19 level when was in charge. Lets not undermine his contributions in that because those (U-19) players were way out of contention from IPL hence that cash rich league has nothing to do with the players' approach. Now, as for the defensive approach from the senior Indian team, it was foolish from the management to get both Rohit and Rahul to open together. Rohit has always started slowly and as someone said earlier in this thread, KL has changed his approach as a opener and seldom attacks until he is well settled much like Rohit. This left us with two guys at the top who took all their time in the world which only put pressure on the rest of the batsmen. Furthermore, in ODIs, KL batting at #5 has formidable numbers. We should have always had Gill to open with Rohit.
Indian cricket team have been way too media driven in the last few years be it the sudden inclusion of Pant in ODI World Cup by removing Vijay Shankar in the middle of the tournament after the selectors had a brainfade resulting in omission of Rayudu or even the selection of players on the basis of IPL and not domestic OD and FC cricket apart from preferring the players who 'look' flamboyant rather than the ones who actually chip in with the scores. How else would you justify so much chopping and changing in team. Even Irfan Pathan raised this issue about frequent changes in the side some time back. And this hasn't been limited to just the Rohit-Dravid time, it was there in full flow in Kohli-Shastri era too when at one time we had a team change in every single Test match though Test teams are supposed to be settled in comparison to the limited overs side.
I cannot wrap my head around the innumerable chances that Pant is getting in T20Is and ODIs on the back of his Test record. Granted that he has talent but its not 2004 where you would have to depend on a single wicket keeper in the side like we had to back then with Parthiv. We have the likes of Ishan and Sanju in the ranks for ODIs and T20Is (heck there is Jitesh Sharma too as a dark horse) and even Bharat as a backup for Tests. I am getting sick of him throwing away his wicket playing far too many reckless shots.
Also, I firmly believe that as much talent the guy posses and can do so much for the balance of side, India unfortunately needs to look past Deepak Chahar now. The guy spends way too much time being injured. Hopefully he can strengthen his body otherwise I cannot see him having a long INTL career and might be reduced to having Mohit Sharma's fate.
If you ask me, India should let their coach to actually have their say in the side for once. If Dravid can be overhaul the playing style of the junior team, if he can give career defining tips to Kevin Pietersen and Younus Khan back in the day, he certainly can provide all the goods with the immense knowledge and skill that he has if only the senior Indian team players are ready to give a listen to the man.
I see the bandwagon that Rahul Dravid needs to go and how bad he has been as a coach in terms of results.
Lets not forget that he was the one who overhauled the junior teams and gave us brilliant players at the U-19 and India A level be it Shaw, Jaiswal, Gill, Nagarkoti, Iyer, KL Rahul (he started off as a defensive wicket keeper batsman in his early days) Pant, Shivam Mavi et all and it was under him that we saw a killer instinct in the players at this level which means he was doing something right. We were all going gaga over his coaching ability and how he spurred a new energy and also the skill that was on display by the junior sides was a breath of fresh air.
He has been there and done that for years in the senior Indian cricket team and knows how tall the egos of some players can be which could be a reason why he was even vocal about how he wanted to stick to coaching the U-19 and 'A' side. On the contrary, Ravi Shastri was hardly seen REALLY coaching or talking anything about skills and execution in the middle barring instance few and far in between and basically was a 'yes man' of the captain/selection committee and looked as if major part of his work was just to be seen around the team doing nothing when is not chugging alcohol while the captain/selection committee called all the shots and frankly it worked quite well. There was a reason why Kumble was axed as a coach - because he was vocal about his own thoughts which collided with the egos of certain senior players - and why the 'yes man' was drafted in for the role.
What I am trying to suggest is that the players might think of themselves as way too big to get the tips from Dravid. I think the fans here are mistaking him as a defensive coach just because he was a defensive batsman. I would like to refresh the memories of such people that Dravid was the one who brought the aggressiveness in the junior side especially at the U-19 level when was in charge. Lets not undermine his contributions in that because those (U-19) players were way out of contention from IPL hence that cash rich league has nothing to do with the players' approach. Now, as for the defensive approach from the senior Indian team, it was foolish from the management to get both Rohit and Rahul to open together. Rohit has always started slowly and as someone said earlier in this thread, KL has changed his approach as a opener and seldom attacks until he is well settled much like Rohit. This left us with two guys at the top who took all their time in the world which only put pressure on the rest of the batsmen. Furthermore, in ODIs, KL batting at #5 has formidable numbers. We should have always had Gill to open with Rohit.
Indian cricket team have been way too media driven in the last few years be it the sudden inclusion of Pant in ODI World Cup by removing Vijay Shankar in the middle of the tournament after the selectors had a brainfade resulting in omission of Rayudu or even the selection of players on the basis of IPL and not domestic OD and FC cricket apart from preferring the players who 'look' flamboyant rather than the ones who actually chip in with the scores. How else would you justify so much chopping and changing in team. Even Irfan Pathan raised this issue about frequent changes in the side some time back. And this hasn't been limited to just the Rohit-Dravid time, it was there in full flow in Kohli-Shastri era too when at one time we had a team change in every single Test match though Test teams are supposed to be settled in comparison to the limited overs side.
I cannot wrap my head around the innumerable chances that Pant is getting in T20Is and ODIs on the back of his Test record. Granted that he has talent but its not 2004 where you would have to depend on a single wicket keeper in the side like we had to back then with Parthiv. We have the likes of Ishan and Sanju in the ranks for ODIs and T20Is (heck there is Jitesh Sharma too as a dark horse) and even Bharat as a backup for Tests. I am getting sick of him throwing away his wicket playing far too many reckless shots.
Also, I firmly believe that as much talent the guy posses and can do so much for the balance of side, India unfortunately needs to look past Deepak Chahar now. The guy spends way too much time being injured. Hopefully he can strengthen his body otherwise I cannot see him having a long INTL career and might be reduced to having Mohit Sharma's fate.
If you ask me, India should let their coach to actually have their say in the side for once. If Dravid can be overhaul the playing style of the junior team, if he can give career defining tips to Kevin Pietersen and Younus Khan back in the day, he certainly can provide all the goods with the immense knowledge and skill that he has if only the senior Indian team players are ready to give a listen to the man.
