Bangalore: Javagal Srinath welcomed Graham Ford's appointment as the Indian cricket team coach. The former Indian speedster said: "It is a good move. Ford has a tremendous reputation back home and it has been endorsed by some kind words from the South African players.

"I think he will do good and will be in the background, which I think is very important because if a coach gets too vocal, a few misunderstandings can creep up, it also depends on having a shared philosophy with senior players. A coach is like a shock-absorber and at the end of the day, the captain is in charge," Srinath said.

"From whatever I know of him, having played in the 2000 series against South Africa when he was coach, I can say that he is a good choice. I don't think that a one-year contract is too stiff a tenure. In fact it should motivate him to do better with the team but victories should not be the sole method of assessing his contribution. The next three months will be crucial for him and the team," Srinath added.

Meanwhile spin legend E.A.S. Prasanna hoped that Ford has been given a clear definition of his job profile. "To be honest I cannot comment on the choice as I hardly know anything of Ford but I hope the committee or who ever selected him, has made it clear to him about the expectations about his role.

"It is better to tell him what we expect, place the cards on the table so that he knows his role with the team. He has coached the South African team before and their system is very different. And I am sure he will come in with his own system and we should respect that," Prasanna said.

Our Mumbai Special Correspondent reports

Dungarpur's take

Some former Indian cricketers may like to cavil at BCCI's decision to nominate Ford as coach, but according to former BCCI President Raj Singh Dungarpur though they may be enthusiastic and ambitious to coach the national team, they have not matured to stake a large claim.

"The ethos of coaching has not yet sunk among the retired Indian cricketers. Where is a good Indian coach? When Sunil Gavaskar felt he needed to sort out a problem, he went to Pune and consulted coach Kamal Bhandarkar.

Master Vino Mankad was a great cricketer, but I do not think he would have been the right man as a coach. Sachin Tendulkar told me on the tour of Pakistan that Ramakant Achrekar made him play one hundred matches in a month,'' said Dungarpur.

He added that the seven-member panel that selected the coach had three distinguished international cricketers in Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri and S. Venkataraghavan. "What the team needs is an elder brother, not a coach. I think Shastri was like an elder brother in Bangladesh.

Challenge ahead

"I have seen John (Emburey) engaged in serious talking with even batsmen in England. I do not know much about Ford. I think he has a challenge ahead of him, and if a quiet man can guide the Indian team, it would be most welcome and wonderful.''

Dungarpur also felt the two previous foreign coaches — New Zealander John Wright and Australian Greg Chappell — did nothing wrong and confirmed that the senior players recommended both to the BCCI. "Some time ago, Tendulkar said that the BCCI should consult the players in the matter of the choice of the coach. It was brave of him to speak out.''

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