Sunny bats for Dravid as coach
11 March 2014 6:16 AM IST
‘Rahul Dravid is one man who is enormously respected and is a successful captain having won series in West Indies and England. When he speaks, the Indian players, some of whom are superstars listen to him as they know how much preparation went into his game,’ he told NDTV. He was very scathing while talking about Fletcher’s role as the chief coach since his appointment post 2011 World Cup win which has seen the performance of the Indian team go down abysmally. ‘I know it’s only 11 months for the World Cup and people don’t want to tinker with support staff. But had it been the staff of 2011 (Gary Kirsten, Paddy Upton and Eric Simons), I would have agreed. But what has Fletcher done. He has done nothing. His achievements as a cricketer wasn’t anything incredible. He was an ECB reject. The ECB dispensed with his services,’a livid Gavaskar said. A coach has to be somebody who is in touch with the modern game and take the team forward. If Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh all stalwarts of Indian cricket can be dropped on poor form then why not drop support staff for poor performance. ‘Fletcher never had credentials of Gary Kirsten or John Wright, who were achievers in international cricket.’ Gavaskar also said the flip side of appointing someone who had retired in last three to four years is he might carry some ‘residue from his playing days’ having shared the dressing room with some of the current players. You don’t want that situation where some residue of the past can come in the way. But India does need a younger man in touch with modern game,’the batting great said. ‘The way things work in India is completely different. Kirsten was never the most talented cricketer but he was very successful in both Tests and ODIs. He did it the hard way and when he spoke to the players about value of hard work and training, they listened to him. You need someone with a positive outlook, with fair bit of receptivity and flexible thinking,’the legendary opener said.
He said India as a team has not improved one bit in these three years. ‘In Fletcher’s tenure, there has hardly been any improvement as a team. There has been no improvement of players individually also. Somewhere, this slide needs to be stopped. There is still 11 months left for the World Cup. It’s a lot of time and the current lot has done nothing,’ he fumed.
Shane Watson to lead Raj Royals; old hand Rahul stays as mentor
Mumbai: Rajasthan Royals today appointed star Australian all-rounder Shane Watson captain of the Jaipur franchise for the upcoming Indian Premier League in place of the retired Rahul Dravid who was anointed its mentor. Former India captain Dravid, who retired from all forms of cricket last year, will be involved in all aspects of cricket strategy, mentoring the team and guiding youth and talent development initiatives for the franchise, Royals announced on Monday.
‘I am honoured to lead the Rajasthan Royals, an extraordinary team which has always given me amazing opportunities,’ said the 32-year-old Australian on his new appointment for the upcoming IPL season scheduled to start next month.
‘(Compatriot) Shane Warne and Rahul Dravid had a lot of faith in me while they were captains and gave me opportunities that helped improve my cricket. I hope to live up to the confidence shown in me by the franchise and give our fans an exciting season of cricket,’ he said.
‘I would like to thank our fans for showing trust in me through their votes on the digital medium. The Royals are one big family and I feel very privileged to be a part of such a special franchise,’he added about the franchise’s initiative.
‘My aim will be to continue playing our best cricket and maintain the winning momentum. We all want to repeat the 2008 IPL success and last season, we were quite close to that. I am confident that we can do it again,’ he added.
Welcoming Watson’s elevation, Dravid described the burly Aussie as a player with top notch leadership skills. ‘I would like to congratulate Shane Watson on his appointment as the Captain of the Royals. He is not only one of the world’s best all-rounders, but a leader par excellence. Watson has been with the team since the first season and is familiar with the players and the staff. The squad is a bunch of extremely energetic players who know their roles well. I am sure they will thrive under Watson,’ Dravid said.
He said India as a team has not improved one bit in these three years. ‘In Fletcher’s tenure, there has hardly been any improvement as a team. There has been no improvement of players individually also. Somewhere, this slide needs to be stopped. There is still 11 months left for the World Cup. It’s a lot of time and the current lot has done nothing,’ he fumed.
Shane Watson to lead Raj Royals; old hand Rahul stays as mentor
Mumbai: Rajasthan Royals today appointed star Australian all-rounder Shane Watson captain of the Jaipur franchise for the upcoming Indian Premier League in place of the retired Rahul Dravid who was anointed its mentor. Former India captain Dravid, who retired from all forms of cricket last year, will be involved in all aspects of cricket strategy, mentoring the team and guiding youth and talent development initiatives for the franchise, Royals announced on Monday.
‘I am honoured to lead the Rajasthan Royals, an extraordinary team which has always given me amazing opportunities,’ said the 32-year-old Australian on his new appointment for the upcoming IPL season scheduled to start next month.
‘(Compatriot) Shane Warne and Rahul Dravid had a lot of faith in me while they were captains and gave me opportunities that helped improve my cricket. I hope to live up to the confidence shown in me by the franchise and give our fans an exciting season of cricket,’ he said.
‘I would like to thank our fans for showing trust in me through their votes on the digital medium. The Royals are one big family and I feel very privileged to be a part of such a special franchise,’he added about the franchise’s initiative.
‘My aim will be to continue playing our best cricket and maintain the winning momentum. We all want to repeat the 2008 IPL success and last season, we were quite close to that. I am confident that we can do it again,’ he added.
Welcoming Watson’s elevation, Dravid described the burly Aussie as a player with top notch leadership skills. ‘I would like to congratulate Shane Watson on his appointment as the Captain of the Royals. He is not only one of the world’s best all-rounders, but a leader par excellence. Watson has been with the team since the first season and is familiar with the players and the staff. The squad is a bunch of extremely energetic players who know their roles well. I am sure they will thrive under Watson,’ Dravid said.
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