CHENNAI: Duncan Fletcher has done his homework well.
He knows there's no point in trying to be the all-powerful boss when he is dealing with the rock stars of Indian cricket. Rather, it's better to be a backroom boy and play the role of facilitator.
During his first interaction with the Indian media on Friday morning, Fletcher said he had been in constant touch with Gary Kirsten in trying to know more about the Indian players and how to go about his job. He wanted to make it clear he didn't want to be the dictator of the team. "This is a big challenge of my coaching career. But my job is not that of a dictator. I am a great believer that as a coach you offer advice and it works with some players and sometimes it doesn't. But I have had relatively good success and hopefully I will be able to help," Fletcher said.
The Zimbabwean's biggest success story was England. He took up the assignment when they were in the doldrums and under his stewardship, they went on to win the Ashes in 2005. Fletcher struck an excellent rapport with skipper Nasser Hussain and he is hoping to do the same with MS Dhoni.
"I always had a high regard for Dhoni. While he is very skillfull as a player, his handling of the players on the field has also been excellent. Having worked with other good captains, I am really looking forward to do the same with Dhoni."
It was Dhoni's chemistry with Kirsten that worked wonders for India over the last three years. Fletcher made it clear that he was going to follow the Kirsten model. "Gary's philosophy is pretty similar to mine. When he took over as India coach, he took advice from me. Now I have done the same, talking to him as well Eric Simons (the bowling coach). I am looking to take forward the good work that has already been done," Fletcher said.
BCCI secretary N Srinivasan confirmed that it was on the recommendations of Kirsten that Fletcher had been brought on board. "He came highly recommended by many people, particularly Kirsten. He comes in with a big reputation and I do not think it was a difficult decision for BCCI to make," the secretary said.
Asked about his problems with Kevin Pietersen, the 68-year-old said he had "handled enough big players". "It's all about man management. The first thing is that you have to gain their respect and once that is done, half the battle is won. Having travelled around with the South African side when they toured India and when India was there in South Africa, I observed the players. I have taken my notes and I hope to put that into good use," the new coach added.
Fletcher also made it clear that he won't push seniors into retirement. His philosophy is that a player should play as long as he is good enough and that "India are very fortunate to have so many quality senior players". "But the bench strength is also exciting and I am looking forward to working with them," Fletcher said.
He was originally scheduled to take over from the England series, but Fletcher informed that he will do it from the tour of the Caribbean itself. There are quite a few important tours coming up and he wants to spend as much time with his new wards as possible. And he is looking forward to build a pace attack (much like England) that will serve India for a while.
"It is important to have a strong bowling attack but it does not come overnight. It took me about three or four years to develop that with the England team. Developing pace bowlers is probably one of the hardest things to do in cricket," Fletcher said.
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He knows there's no point in trying to be the all-powerful boss when he is dealing with the rock stars of Indian cricket. Rather, it's better to be a backroom boy and play the role of facilitator.
During his first interaction with the Indian media on Friday morning, Fletcher said he had been in constant touch with Gary Kirsten in trying to know more about the Indian players and how to go about his job. He wanted to make it clear he didn't want to be the dictator of the team. "This is a big challenge of my coaching career. But my job is not that of a dictator. I am a great believer that as a coach you offer advice and it works with some players and sometimes it doesn't. But I have had relatively good success and hopefully I will be able to help," Fletcher said.
The Zimbabwean's biggest success story was England. He took up the assignment when they were in the doldrums and under his stewardship, they went on to win the Ashes in 2005. Fletcher struck an excellent rapport with skipper Nasser Hussain and he is hoping to do the same with MS Dhoni.
"I always had a high regard for Dhoni. While he is very skillfull as a player, his handling of the players on the field has also been excellent. Having worked with other good captains, I am really looking forward to do the same with Dhoni."
It was Dhoni's chemistry with Kirsten that worked wonders for India over the last three years. Fletcher made it clear that he was going to follow the Kirsten model. "Gary's philosophy is pretty similar to mine. When he took over as India coach, he took advice from me. Now I have done the same, talking to him as well Eric Simons (the bowling coach). I am looking to take forward the good work that has already been done," Fletcher said.
BCCI secretary N Srinivasan confirmed that it was on the recommendations of Kirsten that Fletcher had been brought on board. "He came highly recommended by many people, particularly Kirsten. He comes in with a big reputation and I do not think it was a difficult decision for BCCI to make," the secretary said.
Asked about his problems with Kevin Pietersen, the 68-year-old said he had "handled enough big players". "It's all about man management. The first thing is that you have to gain their respect and once that is done, half the battle is won. Having travelled around with the South African side when they toured India and when India was there in South Africa, I observed the players. I have taken my notes and I hope to put that into good use," the new coach added.
Fletcher also made it clear that he won't push seniors into retirement. His philosophy is that a player should play as long as he is good enough and that "India are very fortunate to have so many quality senior players". "But the bench strength is also exciting and I am looking forward to working with them," Fletcher said.
He was originally scheduled to take over from the England series, but Fletcher informed that he will do it from the tour of the Caribbean itself. There are quite a few important tours coming up and he wants to spend as much time with his new wards as possible. And he is looking forward to build a pace attack (much like England) that will serve India for a while.
"It is important to have a strong bowling attack but it does not come overnight. It took me about three or four years to develop that with the England team. Developing pace bowlers is probably one of the hardest things to do in cricket," Fletcher said.
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