Beware the danger of too many cooks!

The oldest and one of the most successful mantras in cricket is ‘keep it simple’. It pertains not only to the various arms of the game but also to management.

A slim and sleek chain of command would ensure the message gets across quickly. This way the team would implement the ideas sooner than later. Importantly, there would be clarity of thought.

If you look at two of the most successful teams in cricket history, Bradman’s Invincibles and Clive Lloyd’s marauders, they had a strong and cohesive team-management.

In the days of Bradman and Lloyd, the captain called the shots with the team manager handling the administrative affairs. If the manager rules in football, it is the captain in cricket and Bradman and Lloyd were strong skippers with sweeping powers who were sure of the path they were carving out for their side.

When India recorded historic away Test series triumphs in the West Indies and England in 1971 the astute Ajit Wadekar made best use of the available resources.

There was no coach.

As the game got bigger commercially and the schedules became packed, this also meant an increase in the captain’s media commitments and the team’s travelling time and the coach came into the cricketing picture. His principal job was to take some heat and load off the captain, spend quality time with youngsters. Gradually, the coach began to don a role in the formulation of strategies.

Now, India has a big, fat management team. It possesses three assistant coaches in B. Arun, Sanjay Bangar and R. Sridhar. Ravi Shastri has been retained team director for the Bangladesh tour.

Then there are the big ‘three’ Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and V.V.S. Laxman, who as members of the newly constituted cricket advisory committee, will guide the Indian team with their inputs.

Already there are signs of friction. Test captain Virat Kohli has come out openly in support of Shastri.

There are some in the Board who back Shastri for his man-management skills. There are others who want to take the side to the next level — winning consistently away from home — and believe Ganguly is the answer.

It must be said though that the presence of Shastri rendered former India coach Duncan Fletcher’s position redundant.

This becomes obvious when you listen to Kohli on how Shastri’s technical insight resurrected his batting career in Australia after a disastrous England tour. If that was the case, what was Fletcher doing?

Men such as Arun, Bangar and Sridhar may still have a role to perform — particularly with youngsters during practice sessions — given the sheer number of matches these days.

But the Board has to choose between a team director and a chief coach.

Their roles clearly overlap with the team director, as the designation indicates, having the final say. No self-respecting coach would like to be put in such a situation.

Now we have a high-power advisory committee on top, to which the team director is answerable. Actually, the panel is in a ‘win-win’ situation since the posts are honorary and hence accountability cannot be pinned on them. If the BCCI wants the system to function, then the three illustrious men will have to be paid for their services.

If someone from the panel travels with the team on tours, there could be a clash of egos between him and the team director or coach.

Given that a three-member panel has already been decided, Ganguly might still be best suited for the job of a team director or coach since the flow of ideas between him and Tendulkar and Laxman would be smoother. Ganguly’s Test record on foreign soil — 11 wins, 10 defeats and 7 draws — cannot be scoffed at.

India also requires a strong coach to keep the temperamental Kohli on a leash. Kohli’s volatile on-field behaviour could have a detrimental long-term effect on the side.

Rahul Dravid has chosen to groom youngsters in the India under-19 and the India ‘A’ teams and his views must be respected.

The emphasis has to be on an Indian coach. Ganguly, a charismatic and a strong captain in his time, is the best choice.