Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram believes that the decision of BCCI to appoint Duncan Fletcher as the chief coach of the Indian team is a positive one. “After Gary Kirsten, Fletcher is the best man to be Indian team’s mentor,” Akram said. “He is very experienced and has vast knowledge. Waqar (Younis), who played in Glamorgan when Fletcher was coach, praised his coaching skills a lot.” Akram said most Indian players are experienced enough to handle situations on their own but Fletcher still had a role to play. “This Indian team doesn’t need coaching, but Fletcher’s excellent man management skills will surely help,” said Akram.
Former India captains Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev have spoken in favour of an Indian coach, post the Gary Kirsten era. In his newspaper column, Gavaskar mentioned the name of Mohinder Amarnath “because most players represent the Hindi belt.” Akram says language is no barrier anymore. He feels a foreign coach is quite beneficial for the sub-continent teams simply because “he is a neutral guy.”
Having worked with foreign coaches like Richard Pybus in Pakistan, Akram does understand a bit about foreign coaches and their ways.
“Our home-bred coaches have plenty of mood swings and preferences, but a foreigner will have no such things, no favorites. He just does his work, doesn’t talk much with the media and remains focused on his work,” explained Akram. A former Zimbabwean international, Fletcher will take charge of Team India from the England tour which starts in July. Akram feels Fletcher’s work-experience in England will surely come in handy for Dhoni and team. “Fletcher has done plenty of coaching in England, and he knows their players very well. Beating England at their backyard will be tough but Fletcher’s presence in the Indian dressing room will be a huge advantage,” feels Akram.
