Duncan Fletcher
In the press meet held to announce the list of team members heading towards the Caribbean, the new Indian cricket team coach Duncan Fletcher said “he was looking forward to the challenge of guiding an in-form team amid rising expectations”. In his first interaction with the media in India after taking over, he spoke about the merits of advising the players than bossing over them.
BCCI Secretary N. Srinivasan, who was also there on the occasion, said, “He (Fletcher) came highly recommended. His name was suggested by Kirsten. Fletcher’s reputation preceded him. It was not a very difficult decision for us to make.”
Having built strong relationships with captains Nasser Hussain and Michael Vaughan during his eight-year tenure with the England team, Fletcher said “he was impressed with India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni. “Even before I was offered the job, I had high regard for Dhoni. He is a captain of high standing not only for his skills, but for his handling of the players on the field. Having worked with some other good captains, it will be exciting to work with Dhoni.”
But unfortunately Fletcher’s first experience is with Gautham Gambhir, who has been admitted as the captain for the entire West-Indies series.
Fletcher, who will be travelling with the Indian team for the entire tour of the Caribbean, said it faced three tough series – in the West Indies, England and Australia – this season. “England, in particular, has been playing some good cricket,” he said. He added that, “he need to spend time with the younger batsmen and work with them to counter the swing and seam movement in the West Indies and England and the extra bounce in Australia”.
When asked about India’s relative shortcomings in the bowling department, Fletcher said, “I will hold discussions with bowling Coach Eric Simons.” The former Zimbabwe captain agreed that, “it would be hard for India to unearth a pace man with express pace to rattle the opposition”. He added that “It is very hard to find and develop a paceman with real speed. It takes time. India should rely on its traditional strength that is spin. There are some good pace men as well.”
Tags: BCCI, Caribbean, Coach, Duncan Fletcher, Gautham Gambhir, India, Indian Cricket, West Indies
