The magnitude of the moment and the achievement was enough to move even a thorough professional like Kirsten, who usually towers over extravagant expression of his innermost feelings. But a balmy Saturday at the Wankhede stadium here was special as it witnessed the successful culmination of careful planning over the years.
The central figure of that entire process of preparation was Kirsten. Over the last three years, he has been the invisible force behind the Indian team, charting his team’s journey to the pinnacle with minimum fuss.
Being the coach of Indian cricket team is not an easy task and the person is bound to attract as much attention as his wards. So, the job demands a certain level of evasiveness to be successful and Kirsten has at best been a passive public figure during his tenure which has ended with that eventful April 2.
The victory lap the team gave Kirsten after the title triumph might have been the longest time he stayed visible in public except during training sessions and those mandatory press dos. It was also a show of gratitude to a man who stood by them and guarded them in all circumstances.
There were hardly any instances during his stint when Kirsten made public his displeasure, if any, about any of the team members and the men in blue loved him for that ability to keep the issues within the four walls of the dressing room. But apart from those remarkable personal traits, Kirsten knew the key part of his job.
The South African realised that a batting line-up that contains the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Virender Sehwag, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh does not require a coach in the conventional mould but only a guiding hand, somebody who can sit with them and discuss on an equal footing their areas of concern, something similar to what John Wright did during his tenure as India coach in the early 2000s. An Indian training session under Kirsten resembles a panel discussion than a tutorial.
It’s not so surprising to see then the golden period of Indian cricket, particularly of the batsmen, coincided with Kirsten’s term at the helm. There are the obvious results like the Test team’s climb to the number one spot in ICC rankings and the World Cup triumph after 28 years. But there are a few other less perceptible aspects like the re-emergence of Tendulkar as a dominant batsman after a period in which injuries of various nature troubled him.
But giving Gautam Gambhir back to Indian cricket as a near finished product should be considered as one of Kirsten’s major success. Tipped by many as a player destined for failure at the top level, Gambhir made a stunning comeback and the Delhiite has many times admitted the role of Kirsten in his consistent run over the last couple of years in all versions of the game.
Sri Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakkara, a classy southpaw, said, “Gambhir is an exceptional player and I should say one of the best left-handed batsmen around at present.” It was meant as a compliment to Gambhir after his wonderful 97 that anchored India’s chase of 275 in the final of the quadrennial big bash. But Sangakkara’s words could also be counted as a tribute for the work Kirsten put in with Gambhir.
However, Kirsten’s tenure is not a runaway hit. India are yet to find a perfect support for Zaheer Khan as Kirsten’s move to bring in Eric Simons as bowling coach made no difference to the slide of Ishant Sharma and Rudra Pratap Singh and that could be the biggest challenge for Kirsten’s successor.
But that’s a topic for another day. Now, Kirsten might be busy preparing his farewell speech. Let’s raise a toast to the most successful Indian coach.