Coaches Win Matches!

                                                              

                                               

Cricket is always referred to as the game of the gentlemen.  Last week this long time belief has taken one more body blow! Gentleman coach Kumble is made to quit.  Players have become more important and captain Kohli is proved supreme. It is even being argued..........unlike football, cricket does not require a strong coach!  But our beliefs and history speak otherwise.  Let us examine past cases one by one.

Yes, Ram's story is Ramayan.  But could he have conquered Ravan alone?  Clever Ram accepted Vibhishan as his friend, philosopher and guide.

In the war against Ravan, Vibhishan divulged all secrets of Ravan's army and helped Ram in devising the right strategy.  Ram faithfully followed Vibhishan and went on from strength to strength.

During the climax, when Ram was puzzled in his final war with Ravan, it was Vibhishan who advised Ram to first destroy the 'amrut kalash' inside Ravan's chest in order to kill him.  And Ram did exactly the same to become victorious.
Rightfully Ram recognized the services of Vibhishan and anointed him as the King of Lanka!

             

Arjun chose Krishna instead of  several battalions of  army. At the beginning of the war when Arjun was down and out with sunk morale, it was Krishna, the master coach who reminded him the duties of a warrior by narrating the 'Bhagavad geeta'.  

Whether it was neutralizing Bhishma, Drona or Karna, Krishna's strategies came in very handy for Arjuna in delivering the winning blows.  'Saama, dhana, bedha, danda'........now famous as the 'chathuropayas' is the brain-child of Krishna, tested and proved during the Mahabharat war. Exactly for this reason krishna is hailed as the hero of Mahabharat, although he was only a non-playing coach throughout.

Chanakya, the legendary coach was the 'guru' who identified and inspired Chandragupta to establish the Maurya dynasty which produced the noted successor, Ashoka, the great! 'Chanakya Neeti' became the master strategy for all rulers to come over the centuries. Chanakya's 'Artha shashtra' has become the basis for all successful economies which have transformed the world!


The present Shah-Modi combination is reminiscent of Chanakya-Chandradupta days.  In the recent past we have seen this 'duo' delivering several master strokes in order to lift our country and their party to greater heights.



                                                                                                                                                                  Let us come to the field of education and training.  Indian Army has earned for itself a different type
                                                                                         

glory by taking up the cause of teaching and coaching. Towards the greater cause of national integration they have taken up coaching IIT aspirants from Kashmir.  Nine Kashmiri youth have made it to the entrance of IIT this year. It is heartening to see our Army Chief talking to qualified Kashmiri girls who have marched ahead of boys.

What is common between Microsoft CEO Mr. Satya Nadella, Nokia CEO Mr.Rajiv Suri, Super Chef Mr.Vikas Khanna and India's first woman surfer Ms.Ishita Malaviya? They were all coached by our beloved 'Manipal' during their budding stages!

Let us turn to the world of sports.

Reigning Football champion Germany (2014) owes its trophy to its present coach Joechim Loew.  Since 2014, five major players have retired including the Captain.  But the coach continues and he is in the task of rebuilding the side with budding youngsters.  Loew is confident of defending the title.

Tennis clay court king Nadal with 15 grand slam titles dedicates his success to his uncle and coach Toni Nadal. Nadal says that his coach is very tough on him since childhood and occasionally puts too much of pressure. Toni does so because he wants Nadal to succeed.

Badminton coach Gopichand's role as a coach in shaping Saina Nehwal, Sindhu and even Kidambai Srikkanth is too well known.  India's achievement in Badminton has gone less noticed when compared to cricket.  Gopi and his pupils deserve highest credit as their game happens to be very tough with fierce competitors like China.

What is common between these three pairs?  They are all Cricket World Cup winners!

Former legend Bob Simpson, took over as coach (1986) when Australian cricket was in doldrums. He forged a great alliance with his pupil Allan Border to make his team a world beater again in all formats.  Simpson as a coach ruled Australian Cricket for almost a decade.

Lesser known cricketer John Buchanan (Coach 1999-2007) took Australian cricket to greater heights in combination with Ricky Ponting.  They together won two consecutive world cups and conquered all countries in their own backyards.

South African legend Gary Kirsten proved to be a seasoned campaigner and combined well with our 'captain cool' Dhoni.  They together won a world cup besides taking India to the top of test cricket for quite a long period.  Earlier John Wright and Saurav Ganguly too worked together well while bring great laurels to Indian Cricket.

Today while Indian Cricket is still at top of the world, the turn of events during last week has seen dumping of its gentleman coach Kumble for wrong reasons.  Probably these are the most disgraceful days for Indian cricket.

During 2016, when former all-rounder  Ravi Shashtri was its director-coach, there was no reason to remove him at all.  Ganguly's personal equation with Shashtri was not okay which lead to dumping of Shashtri, bringing disgrace to Indian cricket.

Surprise choice was India's legendary bowler Anil Kumble.  Never before such an Indian cricketing giant was chosen for the role. An humble student of the game for more than 3 decades, Kumble took up the task with great interest and enthusiasm and achieved a formidable record during last one year with young Virat Kohli.

Last one week's development is the result of the 'cold war' between the 'two' going on since more than six months. Gentleman Kumble has quit and Captain Kohli has made his writ run on the game.  We can very well imagine what might have happened in the dressing room.  We all know Kumble too well who has played his game with world-class distinction under various captains and coaches for nearly two decades for the country. Whether it was the pain of broken jaws, operated knees or unceremonious drops, Kumble has played the game with dedication and humility.  What is wrong if 

he expects similar commitment from his players as a coach? Is any player including Kohli larger than the game? Some fame, name and money has rushed to the head of present day players and they feel offended when somebody speaks to them about discipline and commitment!

Kumble can be a tough man too when it comes to upholding the honor of his team and his players.  Remember how he handled the 'monkey gate' issue as a captain in Australia during 2007?

One bone of contention said to be between captain Kohli and Kumble is the selection of the final eleven. If an experienced coach like Kumble does not have a say, why there should be a coach at all?

During the recent tour of Australian team, Kumble was for including the left arm chinaman bowler Kuldip Yadav for the Ranchi test (series was level at 1-1) itself.  Kohli opposed and Kuldip could not play.  When Kohli had to sit out of the final test at Dharmashala, Kumble prevailed upon the acting captain Ajinkya Rahane and included Kuldip.  Kumble was proved right bang on as Kuldip destroyed first innings of the touring team with a 4-wicket haul paving way for test and series victory.  If Kohli is not happy with Kumble for this event, tell me who is to be kicked out of the team?

Many times I think that professional cricket managers like Srinivasan (may be there are charges against him)  could have managed this situation in a better manner.  The Supreme Court appointed committee of administrators having no cricketing background too are adding to the confusion.  What if Kumble has asked for better packages for himself and his supporting team? Why they did not stand up to the support of the great cricketer in order to uphold the dignity of the game?

Last but not the least it was painful to note that yesterday Kohli has deleted the 'welcome tweet' he made one year ago for Kumble as new coach.  There can't be a more childish act than this.

With this type of treatment to the illustrious coach Kumble, will the next incumbent dare to discipline the captain and his heavy weights? Will any former player worth some name and honor dare to take up the job itself? Its time people who matter should sit and think over. Let everybody know that players come and go, but the game continues for ever!

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