Why we need an Indian coach

A week after the Board of Control for Cricket in India advertised for Team India's head coach's job, the board received a good number of applications from domestic coaches including chief selector Sandeep Patil and former Team Director Ravi Shastri. According to reports, Zimbabwe's Heath Streak is one of the big foreign names to have applied.

There was a slight misunderstanding when the BCCI, in its criteria, listed that it would be desirable if the coach knew Hindi or any other regional language.

A few days later, India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni stressed on having a coach who can understand the Indian culture that has players from different parts of the country.

"More than Hindi, English, one who understands our culture and our upbringing, the one who understands these sort of things, he will always be better with us. In the past, too, these things have been important, and the coaches who have understood us better, it has made a difference at the ground level," Dhoni had said before departing for Zimbabwe.

Now that quite a few hints have been given that the BCCI is looking for a desi coach, dna tries to find out how a homegrown would help Team India. Especially after having gone through different experience of having foreign coaches in Greg Chappell and Duncan Fletcher.

"His (Dhoni) message is very clear. He'd have made such a statement considering the load that is on his shoulders. Because, as a captain, he understands what the coach is trying to say. Some players may not understand, hence the captain has to do the needful," said Anshuman Gaekwad, former India opener who also had two stints as coach with Indian team in the late 1990s.

Gaekwad said that only a local coach will be able to handle the guys, especially the talent that is coming from small towns these days.

"It is tough for guys coming from small towns as they understand only Hindi. Only an Indian coach can handle them and know what Indian players are all about and how they should be treated," Gaekwad added.

Narrating an incident from the John Wright era, Gaekwad said: "A year and half after John Wright became coach, I met him in Mumbai during a Test. He had a question on his mind. 'How do you keep these players together?' I was surprised with the question especially since it came after one-and-a-half years. Players come from different parts of India, have different cultures, language, food habits. A lot of the boys may understand English but difficult to understand the accent," he said.

The former Test cricketer said that one doesn't need to be a brilliant player to be a coach. "You don't have to be a Sunil Gavaskar, a Kapil Dev or a Sachin Tendulkar. A coach has to be a good observer, should be involved with the game and, most importantly, man manager."

Another former India coach, Madan Lal, felt that an Indian should be given preference. "I agree with Dhoni when he said the coach should understand the culture. How can a foreigner understand Indian style of functioning? It will be difficult for him to tackle. The players will be more comfortable when an Indian who knows them is around in the dressing room," said Lal.

While Gaekwad felt that someone like a Patil or a Shastri or a Rajput should be given the mantle. "Anybody who is currently involved with the game like Sandip as a selector or Ravi who was a commentator and team director recently. May be Lalchand Rajput, who is into coaching was also a manager in World T20," he said.

For Lal, it's Shastri or Rahul Dravid. "Even Virat Kohli has said about how motivating Ravi Shastri is and the two get well together. Dravid, on the other hand, is a strong character who doesn't show emotions," Lal added.