The Hindu : Sport : Sharad Pawar hopeful of finding coach for Team India within a month

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Saturday, Aug 04, 2007
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Sharad Pawar hopeful of finding coach for Team India within a month

Principal Correspondent

— Photo: Sampath Kumar

TALKING CRICKET: Sharad Pawar, flanked by former Indian cricketer G.R. Viswanath and KSCA secretary Brijesh Patel, speaking to the media in Bangalore on Friday.

Bangalore: The BCCI president Sharad Pawar expressed the hope that the Indian cricket team coach would be selected in a month’s time.

“We have informed the cricket boards of Australia, New Zealand, England and West Indies about our requirement and we have told them that suitable candidates would be considered for the coach’s post.

“We have a committee consisting of three of our senior-most players and in consultation with them we will decide. Now our team is playing very well — with or without a coach — and let us hope it continues that way. I think it will take another month’s time to decide on the coach,” Pawar told the media here on Friday afternoon.

Meanwhile Pawar also ruled out an advisory role for former coach Greg Chappell within the Board or at the NCA level and added that reports about Chappell were mere speculation.

Supreme body

“These are just reports and the Board doesn’t know.

This is not the thinking as of today and ultimately the Board which is the supreme body will decide.

As for Chappell’s role in NCA, yes maybe a few colleagues in the Board may have suggested that but it was never a proposal,” Pawar said.

The BCCI president also hinted at his and the Board’s displeasure over the Indian Cricket League and the role of Kapil Dev. “What we are saying is that if former players would like to organise matches here and there, the Board has nothing to say. On a number of occasions you must have seen the former players playing some matches in Mumbai or here and there is nothing wrong with that but the only problem is that if somebody is trying to organise an official meet.

Free citizen

“I don’t think it is proper to do that without getting the prior approval of the BCCI.

“A person who has retired from the game is a free citizen and he has every right to take decisions about himself.

“The Board will decide on the issue in its meeting on August 21 and the Board is looking into it,” Pawar said.

“Any effort that will resolve the problems of ex-cricketers and will give financial support to retired cricketers, well we don’t want to oppose that. If anybody wants to start coaching, it is good but independently organising some tournaments on a regular basis is a problem and that will be discussed,” Pawar added.

On Kapil Dev

And on Kapil Dev’s strident role with the ICL, Pawar said: “In fact Kapil Dev is the chairman of the NCA but it seems he is interested in some other activity. Earlier we had given the job to Sunil Gavaskar.

We then gave it to Kapil, under whom we won the World Cup and he is one of the senior-most players of the country and we thought that his experience will help the youngsters.”

The Board president also mentioned that the players are extremely happy with bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad and fielding coach Robin Singh.

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