The perfect coach for India – Gary Kirsten

by Guest Blogger Christopher Poshin David

‘Coaches don’t win you matches, players do’, goes a timeless saying in sports. Despite that fact, it’s been seen time and time again, that good winning teams have had fantastic coaches. Manchester United have Sir Alex Ferguson and it is seen in their results just how big an influence he is. The same can be said about all good teams.

A coach according to the Oxford dictionary is defined as a leader in charge of training an athlete or a team. This definition fits most sport but in cricket that meaning loses its original nature. The role of a coach in cricket diminishes with each level. The role of the coach is maximum at the grassroots level and almost minimum at the international level, but it is at the International level where the role of a coach is difficult. A coach at the International level is more of a comforting mother, a advising father and a stern elder brother, and also a teacher and a mentor. A small 6 year old boy needs a coach to teach him the game, but a player like Sachin Tendulkar needs no one to tell him how to play now. John Buchanan, John Wright, Mickey Arthur, and Gary Kirsten are some of the names that come to mind when thinking of the best modern day coaches in cricket.

Gary Kirsten from South Africa became the coach of one of the most difficult countries after a much controversial time with Greg Chappell. Gary Kirsten the batsmen during his playing days looked older than he actually was thanks to his hair style and was a player known for his unique technique and concentration. South Africa looked like a toothless crocodile without him. His achievements with the bat are well known and I regard him as one of South Africa’s best batsmen, but after his retirement in 2004, Kirsten took a new road and became a batting coach for the Warriors before he started his own cricket academy in Cape Town. With Greg Chappell being showed the door in 2007, India started hunting for his replacement. Gary Kirsten came to be the man who replaced him and he answered India’s prayers.

Coaching India is the most difficult place after Pakistan. India is a diverse country with more than 27 languages being spoken and the culture, traditions and religion beliefs varying vastly from state to state. It is difficult to manage a team that comprises of players with vast difference in their culture and customs. Added to this is the difference in education, mannerism, and just the way of approaching and doing things. A foreign coach always finds it difficult to take in everything a country like India offers and it takes time to settle down. And this Kirsten and Wright did. They preferred to be behind the scenes, observing and analysing their surroundings before making their decisions. They looked twice before saying anything and were rewarded by not making a fool of themselves. This enabled them to better understand the cultures and the little intricacies of India and to be better coaches. On a given day, there can be up to 8 languages being spoken in the dressing room, and the differences in clothing, food and mannerism is sure to make it quite a sight.

Gary Kirsten had a simple strategy and his relationship with the Indian players was something that most fathers and sons will envy. He took his team into confidence and encouraged them. Kirsten helped improve the skills and techniques of many players and he made himself available to the players full time. He spoke a common language that the players could understand and handled the big egos and the smaller aspiring stars well. He found a balance between them and made sure that there was no rift within the team. Kirsten is known to be a very motivating person and is the guy who always knows how to motivate his team. He has been invited by many institutions to make motivational speech.

Kirsten has adapted well to the huge demands of the Indian job, and has taken to India like how an eel takes to water. He has accepted the culture and has made the most of India. Rather than to complain and change the way the Indian system functions, he has learned to operate with his means. This is one of the main reasons why he is successful unlike Greg Chappell or John Buchanan when he coached KKR.

One of the desirable traits of Kirsten is the effective way he communicates. Communication is the upmost important character in management and Kirsten excels in this. He is not always sweet and not everything he says is sugary, but when he has something to say that is not all that sweet, he says it in a manner that the player doesn’t get offended. He tells things just the way they are and his honest assessments make him a respected leader. He has the ability to sugar coat the medicine and give it to the players. This makes him favourable among the players and earns mutual respect.

Kirsten is a manager who is available to his players all the time, but instead of just solving their problems, he makes them analyse their own problems and lets them arrive at a solution by themselves. He encourages thinking and makes sure that during team meetings that everyone shares their views. Even a player just in the squad as a substitute is made to share his views and thoughts. This helps develop not only a great thinking forum for a player but also makes sure that everyone feels that they are contributing towards the team’s success. His interactions with the players are simply amazing. He has instilled a sense of self-belief into the team and the team looks to maximize any opportunity that comes their way.

Kirsten has a simple formula to the way he approaches his job. His work ethic is unquestionable and so is his commitment to the job. Kirsten is the type of man who more often than not goes that extra mile above the call of duty. He not only tries to make better cricket players, but also better human beings at the same time. This is seen in all the players he has interacted with.

Under Kirsten, India has achieved the No. 1 rank in the ICC’s Test rankings and have won six of their last seven bilateral ODI series. The Indian team looks more united and now is probably one of the best times in Indian cricket. The team is currently ranked number Uno in test cricket and number 2 in ODIs. This is all due to the performance of India in recent time, and credit must be given to Kirsten.

Kirsten is not a flamboyant coach with unorthodox ideas. Rather he sticks to common sense and plain cricketing knowledge. He doesn’t over analyse a situation and sticks to the basics. The uncomplicated way of approach is working big time for Indian cricket. This also helps him to be a behind the scenes man and is the perfect choice for a coach in a country such as India. BCCI and India in the past have been like a parent who finds an expensive tutor for their child and hope that that alone does well, and have wasted plenty of money. But now they have found a man who does justice to his job and goes the extra mile to fulfill his duties.

Kirsten is and has been the answer to India’s prayer for a world class coach and in a way has been a messiah in the background of every Indian victory in recent times.

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