‘Time we had somebody experienced as coach’

That’s chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar’s take on managers doubling up as coaches of the Indian team. With the T20 World Cup just around the corner, the former India skipper talks about the game’s latest avatar as Nihal Koshie picks his mind on the MS Dhoni-led squad, the challenges, the road ahead and the contenders. Excerpts...

Your thoughts on the game of Twenty20 cricket?
Twenty20 is very popular in England and other affiliated units of the ICC, like China, Italy, France, Germany etc where people who are interested in cricket play after their office hours, for the match gets over in three hours. Basically the game was invented to combat the growing popularity of football in England. In India it is still at a formative stage.

The last version of Twenty20 inter-state matches did not attract many people despite most teams having international players. I am a traditionalist and though I enjoy watching any form of cricket, I feel Twenty20 will take time to catch up in India. For, one does not see any skill or temperament that you see in say Test matches or even for that matter in one-dayers. After all, a player is rated for his Test performance

Do you think the T20 World Cup is being hosted too early?
Well, when the first World Cup (60 overs each) was hosted in England in 1975, the Asian countries had not yet played a regular one-day series. One has to start at some point of time.

India has played only one Twenty20 International. The Australians and the Englishmen have played more.
Yes I agree. It would have been better had we had more exposure in this format and the players were used to it. But then as I had said they will have to start at some point of time. The question is how quickly the players adapt to this format.

With one-day cricket still holding sway in India, how long do you think it will be before T20 catches on in our country?
I really can’t predict how long it would take for the Indian public to accept the format. However, for those who do not have time to play or watch cricket, it would be an ideal format.

Fielding is key in T20 games. It has been India’s Achilles heel? How much has the fielding coach (Robin Singh) contributed so far?
Fielding will be the key factor. As far as Robin is concerned, he can take players to the water but it’s up to them to drink. Fielding is one department where the players themselves will have to show interest. They know it well that if they are not up to the mark, they will have to make way for others.

Going into the T20 World Cup without a permanent coach, is this an ideal situation?
Well, I can’t change the situation. It is up to the BCCI. It is time the BCCI appointed somebody with experience and stature and stop distributing ‘PEDHAS’ which could prove detrimental.

Looking at the way Australia, South Africa, Sri Lanka and now even England play the one-day game, do you think India’s approach to one-day cricket is outdated. We didn’t do well in the DLF Cup; in the West Indies we lost the one-day series, and the similar result in South Africa. We failed in the Champions Trophy and the World Cup.

The players from England, Australia, South Africa and West Indies start with the advantage of being physically stronger than players from Asian countries. We have to work doubly hard to come up to their level of fitness though we are more skilful. Besides their cricket (first class and international) is planned better.

You have picked Dhoni as skipper. Dhoni is a wicket-keeper and has to bat and then also captain the side? Isn’t it too much to handle?
Dhoni has all the qualities a captain must have. Besides he is a good student of the game. He is an explosive striker of the ball. As a wicket keeper he is in a better position to take decisions.

All-rounders come into play in a very big way in T20. We don’t have any.
If you go through with the names you will find that most of the batsmen bowl too and vice versa. Players like Sehwag, Yusuf Pathan, Irfan, Rohit Sharma, and Yuvraj are decent bowlers. Piyush Chawla is a good all-rounder in the making.

Harbhajan, Sehwag and Irfan will be making a comeback of sorts? Is the T20 format suited to their game?
Obviously, otherwise they wouldn’t have been there. They are not being sent there to write on history of South Africa.....

What kind of role do you see Sehwag playing?
Sehwag has a big role to play. He is not only hugely experienced but his inputs during the team meetings and on the ground will be very crucial.

The Aussies are fielding players like Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden (both over 35). India on the other hand don’t have senior pros like Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly in the squad.
Mind you the Australians have a well-spaced out cricket season. As compared to them we are playing non-stop cricket. Sourav and Sachin are not machines and they are humans.

Did the selectors ask Rahul Dravid, Tendulkar and Ganguly to re-consider their decision?
No. It is their call. We respect that.

If players like Tendulkar, Ganguly don’t find a place in the T20 team, then is there a reason why they should continue to play ODIs, especially given the fact that they are unlikely to play the next World Cup? Shouldn’t we expose our budding youngsters to ODIs?
Youngsters have to be groomed at the international level and not rushed in. You can’t throw them into the deep sea and expect them to swim. Besides they must be groomed in the winning environment which is very important. That’s the reason youngsters  in the Australian teams and Mumbai teams in India develop the winning habit.