Huge void to fill

In one of his early interactions not long after taking over as India’s coach, Gary Kirsten had spoken of an ‘exit plan’ for India’s long-serving senior cricketers. It wasn’t difficult to see who the former South African opener was talking about.

Stalwarts such as Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly had all spent well over a decade in international cricket when Kirsten assumed charge in early 2008.

While the coach wasn’t desperate to ‘get rid’ of the seniors, he wanted to make sure that during his tenure, India didn’t meet with the same fate as Australia did in the mid- 80s, when Greg Chappell, Dennis Lillee and Rodney Marsh all retired at the same time and left a huge vacuum that took Australian cricket nearly a decade to fill.

It would now appear as if three of that quintet will outlive Kirsten’s unquestionably successful tenure as the India coach. Kumble is happily retired from international cricket and has made a successful foray into cricket administration while Ganguly is slightly less happily retired, often referring to the manner in which he had to call time on his international career and hinting at a sinister sub-plot to his exit.

There are few indications that any one of Tendulkar, Dravid or Laxman is contemplating retirement in a hurry. Each one of these legends has had a wonderful last twelve months at the highest level, and events of the past few months clearly suggest that while the bench might show occasional signs of promise, there are few finished products well worth sacrificing these giants for.

That, of course, is another matter, to be discussed on another platform. For now, it is essential that the Board of Control for Cricket in India has an ‘exit plan’ for Kirsten. Or, to be more accurate, a plan in the immediacy of Kirsten’s imminent exit to ensure a seamless transition in the post-World Cup phase.

Kirsten has been a wonderful influence on Indian cricket, of that there is little doubt. For a team that had lost a lot of its spontaneity and verve during the Greg Chappell era for one reason or the other, the soft-spoken, background-loving Kirsten came as a breath of fresh air. Chappell’s methods were seen as draconian and school-masterly; a very senior player recently likened Kirsten to a college lecturer who would point out the pros and cons of following differing approaches, and let the player decide which path he chose to adopt.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni made it amply clear the other day, without saying it in as many words, that India would have a new coach after the World Cup. Kirsten’s three-year tenure ends with the quadrennial bash which concludes on April 2, and while the players and the Board are both keen that the South African agree to another three years in charge, family commitments are unlikely to allow Kirsten, or Indian cricket, that luxury.
While it might be construed as premature, and perhaps not in good taste, to identify potential successors even before Kirsten has officially conveyed his decision to not continue as coach to the powers that be, Indian cricket must be mindful of avoiding the melodrama that accompanied Chappell’s sudden but inevitable decision to severe links with the Indian team after the World Cup debacle in 2007.

India’s early exit and other developments made it untenable for Chappell and the Indian team to co-exist. The BCCI cast the net far and wide to look for the next coach, offered the job to Graham Ford and then was left red-faced in embarrassment when the South African turned it down, citing family commitments.

Kirsten was a dark horse, Sunil Gavaskar playing an influential role in getting the soft-spoken, earnest Cape Townian to India. He was an instant hit with the team during the acrimonious tour of Australia when he linked up with Kumble’s men as a consultant soon after the Sydney Monkeygate fiasco. The seeds of an association built on mutual respect and admiration sown then, the bond between Kirsten and every member of the Indian team has only strengthened since.

His departure will create a massive void, but the BCCI must take some responsibility for not having put in a system in place that would have allowed an Indian understudy to at least provide a bridge between the old and the new, if not step into the breach created by Kirsten’s absence. Their over-reliance on overseas professionals at the continued expense of indigenous talent might come back to bite Indian cricket at some stage, because there is no guarantee India will find another Kirsten who buys into the team’s current philosophy, and who might be unwilling to take on board the Kirsten Way that has provided such an unqualified hit.

Be that as it may, the process to seek out a replacement must begin quickly. There are no more than seven weeks between the end of the World Cup and India’s next assignment, a tour of the West Indies.

Indeed, in 2011, India will be involved in two other high-profile away tours – to England in the summer, and Down Under in the Australian summer. The last thing they need in the lead-up to those demanding challenges is another scenario of confusion and uncertainty that accompanied the Chappell departure. The hunt for the next coach must begin quickly, if quietly.