The Hindu : Sport : Nationality should not be an issue

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, May 13, 2005

Sport

Sport

Nationality should not be an issue

Wright was not good because he was a foreigner. He was good because he produced results, writes Nirmal Shekar

Even an elaborate, ritualistic, medieval royal succession process might seem stunningly brisk and uncomplicated when compared to the laboriously unfolding drama vis-a-vis finding a successor to John Wright as the coach of the Indian cricket team. Ever since the New Zealander decided to return to a rather more tranquil life with his family back home, the issue of who should coach India has been debated with considerable vigour by hundreds of thousands of people. From Mumbai's dabbawallahs to Chennai's beachfront ice-cream vendors, from school kids swinging bats in soaring temperatures at the Shivaji Park in Mumbai to former captains and critics, everybody has aired opinions.

A Committee has been appointed. Names have been short-listed. Interview dates have been set. It has been such a long-drawn process that, at the end of the day, whoever makes it to the hot-seat might be excused if he were to fleetingly believe that he would become the newest resident of the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

So far so good! Seriously, there is nothing wrong with the ongoing selection process, really. We Indians love drama, don't we? It is precisely the reason why we have turned the most English of all sports — cricket — into an unending soap opera adapted to the conditions of the sub-continent. In a demand-and-supply economy, it is only right that we should end up getting what we want.

But, then, if we let emotions cloud our judgment, we may not ever get what we really want. And, in certain quarters, patriotic emotions seem to have come into play.

Wouldn't it be a shame if a foreigner got the job yet again when so many well-qualified Indians are available? What kind of a reflection would it be on the domestic coaching talent on hand if another white man came in Wright's place? Isn't it strange that world cricket's superpower should be looking beyond its shores to find a man to coach the national side?

Yes, it would be a pity if a foreigner won the race — but only if he won it merely because he was a foreigner. If the honourable members of the Committee chose an outsider ahead of an Indian on considerations other than pure merit, that would be a shame. But that is unlikely to happen.

Best man

The point is simple. The job of the Committee is to find the best man for the job. It hardly matters whether the man chosen carries an Indian passport or not. Some of the best English football clubs have foreign coaches. Chelsea has won its first Premier Division title in 50 years coached by a foreigner. The English national football team itself has a Swedish coach. Does this mean the nation which gave the world its most popular sport does not have any good coaches?

And, most of all, the Indian team itself achieved its best results in a long, long time under Wright. In hindsight, he was the right choice at that point. All the players were comfortable dealing with him and the praises they showered on him when he departed were a clear indication of the esteem in which he was held.

What is important now is to find a person — in consultation with the senior members of the team — who can fit in as well as Wright did and take the side forward, helping Team India recover from the slump of recent months. If an Indian can do that, why not? But if an outsider has better credentials, then he must get the job. Nationality should not be an issue at all.

For, whoever becomes the team coach will be judged purely on results. Wright was not good because he was a foreigner. He was good because he produced results.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport