Sunil Gavaskar wants Duncan Fletcher out, young coach to mentor India
After disaster tours of South Africa and New Zealand, the inability to make it to the Asia Cup final further highlighted the fact that the Indian team is not a well-oiled unit at the moment and coach Duncan Fletcher appears to have run out of ideas.
- NDTVSports
- Updated: March 09, 2014 07:08 PM IST
It's no secret that the Indian cricket team is struggling - in the subcontinent and outside as well.
After disaster tours of South Africa and New Zealand, the inability to make it to the Asia Cup final further highlighted the fact that the team is not a well-oiled unit at the moment and coach Duncan Fletcher appears to have run out of ideas.
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar feels that a new, younger coach can help stem the rot - one that Fletcher has been unable to handle. "What Indian cricket needs at this stage is a younger coach who will want to be out working with the team and not looking to put his feet up at the slightest chance," he said. "A young coach will galvanise the players and give them a fresh direction and energy. Look how Australia have turned it around in a few months by getting a younger man as coach."
While Australia have strengthened as a unit, the Indian team has failed to find consistency since Gary Kirsten's tenure came to an end in 2011. A look at the team's record under Fletcher clearly exposes the discrepancies in the side - India have won 12 and lost 12 of the 30 Tests they have played under Fletcher since April 2011.
The inconsistency is clear in the ODIs as well, with the team wining 45 and losing 29 out of 80 matches played under Fletcher.
It's not the first time that Fletcher's role has been questioned. The BCCI's decision to extend Fletcher's contract in March last year raised quite a few eyebrows. Any change now, with less than a year left for the World Cup, would also raise questions but Gavaskar is not the only one to highlight the drastic need. "He's here only for international matches, which is not good," former India cricketer Dileep Vengsarkar had said recently. "After the international events, he goes back home. He's not watching any of the domestic matches."
India's title win at the Champions Trophy last year went a long way in giving Fletcher some breathing space especially since it was in foreign conditions. Nine months have gone by since and the breathing space seems to be shrinking rapidly although an extension in Fletcher's contract is expected later this month.