India's coaching staff (Fletcher/Simmons) - Should they go?

[Fenil]

Now that he has retired, Rahul Dravid won't be a bad option given that he has just retired and knows what it takes in modern day cricket and of course has huge experience behind him. Another name strikes to me is Kepler Wessels of RSA. I personally think he can be a pretty good coach. Once, he marked something wrong in Nehra's action after only watching him bowl 1 or 2 deliveries and it was amazing to see that Nehra struggled in that game. So, if it wasn't just a fluke and he can pick a player's wrong in one moment, he could be brilliant as a coach.

 

[sifter132]

Rahul would be a good coach I think, but in a few years time. A coach needs some distance from his players ie. If he was appointed now it would be hard to coach his friends and give them the blunt advice they sometimes need. If he wants to start coaching, then he could start out at junior levels where the players will have awe and respect for him. That will also give him good experience that he can use if he wants to coach India's senior team.

 

[SaiSrini]

Rahul is not coming back to cricket anytime soon. Probably only after 3-4 years or so. He wants time off the game. But Rahul will make a good coach. The quintessential quiet guy behind the scenes.

 

[icyman]

Given our pathetic results of late, it is time Duncan goes. India has been shwoing the same trend in all its recetnly concluded series. They will win the intial games, perform badly mid-way or lose a few and then stun the world with a very difficult victory.

This has happened in Australia, now in Bangladesh. If the team cannot defend a score of 290 agaisnt a minnow, I'm sorry, they cannot be called as World Champions. Duncan, needs to go whether or not we win the Asia Cup.

World Champions losing this horribly to team likes Bangla is simply unacceptable.

 

[6ry4nj]

Given our pathetic results of late, it is time Duncan goes. India has been shwoing the same trend in all its recetnly concluded series. They will win the intial games, perform badly mid-way or lose a few and then stun the world with a very difficult victory.

This has happened in Australia, now in Bangladesh. If the team cannot defend a score of 290 agaisnt a minnow, I'm sorry, they cannot be called as World Champions. Duncan, needs to go whether or not we win the Asia Cup.

World Champions losing this horribly to team likes Bangla is simply unacceptable.

With respect to the Bangladesh game, this is a bit harsh.

Firstly, it wasn't a 'horrible' loss at all.

More importantly, in limited overs you only need one batsman to fire/get lucky while chasing, and you've won the match. As tracks get flatter, it's bound to happen more and more, and bowling will be largely irrelevant. All the top minnows have batsmen capable of doing this. I'm not happy about it, but it's the truth.

 

[icyman]

Look at the way India bowled. Full-tosses when you are defending 290. It was like runs were being given on a platter and MSD had spread out the fields to allow easy access to singles.

It did seem as if India wants to make the Asia Cup a bit interesting by giving the hosts something to cheer about.

 

[6ry4nj]

But Fletcher and Simmons didn't send them out there saying: "Bowl full tosses". The conventional wisdom is to bowl yorker-length. When that's what you're going for, when you miss (as you are bound to do - even Malinga doesn't land them at will all the time) you get either full tosses or half-volleys - which are generally 'bad' balls. And when this strategy fails, does anyone have a Plan B? Remember that India have dished out a couple of these big-chase wallopings in recent days. Sri Lanka and Pakistan had no answer to it either. England certainly doesn't. Does anyone?

 

[sifter132]

But Fletcher and Simmons didn't send them out there saying: "Bowl full tosses". The conventional wisdom is to bowl yorker-length. When that's what you're going for, when you miss (as you are bound to do - even Malinga doesn't land them at will all the time) you get either full tosses or half-volleys - which are generally 'bad' balls. And when this strategy fails, does anyone have a Plan B? Remember that India have dished out a couple of these big-chase wallopings in recent days. Sri Lanka and Pakistan had no answer to it either. England certainly doesn't. Does anyone?

Exactly....It was just an awful couple of overs by Irfan and Praveen. Some good hitting too it has to be said, but Irfan in particularly bowled a shocking over.

And no, no team is immune to being chased down. Australia consider themselves the defending experts, which is why they always bat first. But they have conceded a lot of big chases too.

 

[icyman]

Agreed that in the death overs, the bowlers tried yorker length deliveries. However, one cannot miss the fact that the same bowlers bowled rubbish duirng the initial part of the run-chase as well.

 

[SaiSrini]

Fletcher has only six more months to go with his contract. If I see his contract renewed beyond the upcoming months, it would be the most ridiculous decision EVER in Indian cricket. I am eagerly waiting to see him go. Let's try someone new and if we fail even then, we at least know that something's else is wrong.

What's coach Duncan Fletcher been up to? - The Times of India

This above article talks about how Fletcher has been mighty ineffective with the handling of the players. He is trying to be a yes-man in the team, instead of trying to be bold but clever whenever it is needed. And telling the team that they did well in this T20 World Cup after not making the semifinals is sheer ATROCITY! I accept it coming from the captain, but not the coach,

 

[spooony]

Fletcher has only six more months to go with his contract. If I see his contract renewed beyond the upcoming months, it would be the most ridiculous decision EVER in Indian cricket. I am eagerly waiting to see him go. Let's try someone new and if we fail even then, we at least know that something's else is wrong.

What's coach Duncan Fletcher been up to? - The Times of India

This above article talks about how Fletcher has been mighty ineffective with the handling of the players. He is trying to be a yes-man in the team, instead of trying to be bold but clever whenever it is needed. And telling the team that they did well in this T20 World Cup after not making the semifinals is sheer ATROCITY! I accept it coming from the captain, but not the coach,

Again how many games did India lost in the tournament? The guy took over a aging squad who had a long break and played more tests away than at home. Which Coach was ever successsful with India in Australia? And they had the luxury of a in form Tendulkar, Sehwag, Laxman plus Ganguly and Dravid. All of the sub continent teams records are not the best outside the sub continent. Is it the coaches fault for the lack of variation of Indian pitches?

 

[icyman]

Again how many games did India lost in the tournament? The guy took over a aging squad who had a long break and played more tests away than at home. Which Coach was ever successsful with India in Australia? And they had the luxury of a in form Tendulkar, Sehwag, Laxman plus Ganguly and Dravid. All of the sub continent teams records are not the best outside the sub continent. Is it the coaches fault for the lack of variation of Indian pitches?

He lost just one game,agreed, but look at the manner in which the team lost it. The batting fell apart at various stages during the tournament and he did nothing to avert that. Mind you, we almost crashed out by making Afghanistan look as good as Bangladesh.

To your other point, John Wright had quite a successful tour of Australia. I'd also rate the 2007-8 tour as a good one under Lalchand Rajput. EVen now, Duncan had Tendulkar , VVS and Rahul at his disposal. For a man considered to be a great batting coach, he has done nothing to plug the holes in the Indian armoury. As for the variety of pitches used, thats where a coach's effectiveness comes into play. He has to ensure that the batsmen are comfortable with their technique on alien pitches.

 

[spooony]

He lost just one game,agreed, but look at the manner in which the team lost it. The batting fell apart at various stages during the tournament and he did nothing to avert that. Mind you, we almost crashed out by making Afghanistan look as good as Bangladesh.

How do you instantly fix batsman not performing and openers who were out of form? What I saw was a Indian team who started to win from tight situations. Unlike throwing the match away or giving up like the past.

To your other point, John Wright had quite a successful tour of Australia. I'd also rate the 2007-8 tour as a good one under Lalchand Rajput. EVen now, Duncan had Tendulkar , VVS and Rahul at his disposal. For a man considered to be a great batting coach, he has done nothing to plug the holes in the Indian armoury. As for the variety of pitches used, thats where a coach's effectiveness comes into play. He has to ensure that the batsmen are comfortable with their technique on alien pitches.

Wright lost 2 -1. Tendulkar, Sehwag, VVS and Dravid 2012 is nowhere near them what they were in 2007/2008. You could see the hand eye is not there anymore. No disrepect to NZ but Tim Southee bowled Tendulkar and the Australians went through him like one wouldn't believe. India went over with players that should have retired months before that and instead of bleeding new guys to take over they used the old age home until almost all retired and left a gap hence Tendulkar held on. But who is the selectors? Why is there almost 40 year old in the middle order for India?

 

[Gaurav_7]

And, I don't really get what wrong has Fletcher done tbh. It is the case with most of the people here. They can't take losses. They call for the heads of either the coach or the captain. Poor guys these tbh. It must be so hard for them. You just can't please these people.

 

[icyman]

The point regarding selectors not having done enough is spot on. Srikanth's committee basked in the glory of the World Cup victory and nothing else. Its the same as- Ganguly built the team whereas Dhoni now leads a ready team.

With respect to Duncan Fletcher, one cannot really see what work he has done. He is often not there in the media room neither does he interact much with others to say what is going on. Wright was a shy fellow, but was not shy of voicing his opinions wherever required. A self-introspection should confirm that he [Duncan] has not done enough.

Also, all the talk about him being the best English coach and all. Honestly, England's record was quite poor with him at the helm. BCCI knows that Fletcher has still got 6 more months. My take- remove him, replace him with anyone else- maybe an Indian-get back Rajput or Amarnath or even Patil-that should work wonders for us.

The only area where we need a foreign coach is in the bowling department. I really would not want to see the like of a medium pacer; whose only claim to fame has been the castling of Aamer Sohail in 1996, coaching the Indians.