Fletcher must carry Kirsten's legacy: Bevan

Former Australian cricketer Michael Bevan on Wednesday welcomed the appointment of Duncan Fletcher as the new coach of the Indian team and said the Zimbabwean should carry forward the legacy left behind by the inspirational Gary Kirsten.

The 62-year-old Fletcher, who coached England from 1999 to 2007 with mixed results, was on Wednesday named by the BCCI for a two-year term.

The decision to appoint the former Zimbabwe captain was taken at the BCCI's working committee meeting in Mumbai.

"I don't really know about Fletcher's strengths but he was instrumental in turning around the fortunes of England side though. I wish him all the success in future. The new coach will need to carry the gains forward," Bevan said.

After quitting England's coaching job, Fletcher worked with the South African team as a batting consultant in 2008 and most recently this year before the World Cup.

He joined New Zealand in a similar role during their tour of India last year.

Bevan, who is the coach of IPL franchise Kings XI Punjab this season, said that he was never interested in taking over as the coach following the departure of Kirsten.

"I didn't necessarily have my eyes on the Indian job. CSK coach Stephen Fleming's capabilities are also not been heard beyond his capabilities in leading side in IPL."

As the discussion turned towards the club over country debate, Bevan said the situation could be avoided if a window is created for the IPL in the ICC's FTP calender.

"There is already a small window in the IPL and ICC is trying its best to accommodate the tournament in its packed calendar. If that can happen then situation like club over national duties could be sorted out.

On the Sri Lankan players' early departure from the league to prepare for the England tour, the left-handed batsman said, "Before the tournament started we were told that Lankan players will be available till May 18. Those were the guidelines given to us but the Sri Lankan board decided to change their mind later."

Though considered as their strength, Kings XI have not performed to the expectations as far as bowling is considered.

Most of the times it was their top-order that rescued the team out of trouble. Their strike bowlers Praveen Kumar, Piyush Chawla and Ryan Harris failed to strike early and went for too many runs in their last match against Delhi Daredevils, which the Punjab outfit lost by 29 runs.

"Areas where we bowled against Delhi need some improvement. The bowlers need to be a bit more disciplined and there are still certain areas which the team needs to address," Bevan conceded.

"Our top order has been very productive. Adam Gilchrist, Paul Valthaty and Shaun Marsh have been doing the bulk of the scoring and as a result the middle-order has not got enough exposure. Hopefully, in the next few games, they will get to spend some more time in the middle," he added.