Bleeding for the Men in Blue: Short history of Team India's coaches and their styles

Great cricketers do not necessarily become good coaches. Also, ordinary cricketers may make very good coaches.

The legendary 1983 World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev was a fine example of a great cricketer not succeeding to the same extent as India coach. His tenure as coach coincided with Sachin Tendulkar's second and final return as India captain in 1999. But Kapil failed to inspire players the way he inspired them during his playing days.

The 1983 contingent comprised 15 players and manager PR Man Singh. Today, you will have as many support staff travelling with the team. Every aspect of coaching is covered these days.

To make a good coach, one need not necessarily have played international cricket. John Buchanan (Australia), Russel Domingo (South Africa), Graham Ford (South Africa & Sri Lanka), Mike Hesson (New Zealand), Trevor Bayliss (Sri Lanka & England) found success with national teams with their managerial skills and took players' performances some notches above.

However, there have been a few instances of players not getting along with them for their lack of international exposure as players. Shane Warne once famously said of Buchanan. "The coach's main role is transporting the team to the playing venue!"

(John Buchanan)

Kapil had to resign as India coach when his name was also dragged into the match-fixing controversy. More recently, an equally legendary figure in Anil Kumble was forced to resign at the end of the Champions Trophy. Captain Virat Kohli may not have anything personal with Kumble. It may just have been that he and his team did not take to Kumble's style of functioning.

All about man-management

Today, coaching is all about man-management. Once in the team, players do not have to be coached the basics of the game. It is about fine-tuning certain aspects of their game, giving them the confidence and, more importantly, guiding them to the results.

Perhaps, Kapil did not know how to impart coaching skills, and Kumble may have expected the same level of intensity and discipline with which he played the game to finish as the third highest wicket-taker in Test history.

It is not that India have achieved their greatest triumphs under the guidance of eminent coaches. In the pre-coach days, India won the 1983 World Cup with just a manager. The senior players doubled up as team mentors and coaches, while the manager looked at everything else outside the field of play. India were guided by off-spin legend Erapalli Prasanna as manager to their Benson & Hedges World Championship of Cricket triumph in 1984-85.

When managers called the shots

The managers those days were primarily retired players and were named on a series-by-series basis. They included Srinivasan Venkataraghavan on the tour of Australia in 1985-86, when India nearly won their first Test series there but for weather and biased umpiring, and the 1989 tour of the West Indies. Or, his Spin Quartet co-member Bishan Singh Bedi, who managed the team to New Zealand in early 1990 and made the players exhausted with his drills that affected their on-field performances, and followed it with his remark of not stopping any of his players from jumping into the Pacific Ocean on the return trip if he wanted to. Even in the pre-coach days, India were a force to reckon with in world cricket. After all, it was, and still is, the performance on the field that counted.

When real coaching began

The seeds of an India coach were sown in 1992 when former India captain Ajit Wadekar took over the reins from Abbas Ali Baig. The combination of Wadekar and captain Mohammed Azharuddin worked well for Indian cricket. During their regime, India were unbeatable on home soil, decimating the opposition on pitches that favoured spin, and the duo went with a three-spin attack that included a certain Kumble.

(Ajit Wadekar)

Wadekar was deft at handling all sorts of characters in the team and the players too had their fair share of fun with him. But, India began to expand their support staff to an administrative manager — an office-bearer of a state association — and a physio, which was Ali Irani for a majority of the years. Wadekar paved the way for Sandeep Patil and following him were Madan Lal, Anshuman Gaekwad and Kapil.

Foreign coaches

The start of the Millennium also saw the employment of foreign coaches, the first being the soft-spoken former New Zealand captain John Wright guiding the Indian cricket with Sourav Ganguly at the helm. Also recruited were foreign physios and trainers. Though, with Gaekwad as the coach, the BCCI hired former Australia coach and captain Bobby Simpson as a consultant in the second half of 1998 to build the team for the 1999 World Cup.

(John Wright)

Wright may have achieved some tremendous results with the most famous ones being promoting VVS Laxman to No. 3 after following on against Australia in the 2001 Kolkata Test and the stylish Hyderabadi obliging with an epic 281, or guiding the team to the 2003 World Cup final in South Africa.

Of course, he had some misunderstandings with the Indian players. He was angry at Virender Sehwag falling cheaply during the NatWest Trophy in England in 2002 and even got physical with him. But overall, it was a happy dressing room under the New Zealander. Just as it was with the South African Gary Kirsten from 2007 to 2011.

Chappell era, the lowest point

But, the most bitter experience the Indian team had with a coach was with the legendary Australian batsman Greg Chappell. He and captain Ganguly did not get along well. Things went bad to the extent that the senior players, who had endorsed Chappel's appointment, wanted him out. There could not have been a better excuse than India's failure to advance beyond the first stage in the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies to boot Chappell out.

(Greg Chappell)

Chappell backed players who did not have the potential and changed batting order that affected the balance of the side. He told Laxman to open and pushed Tendulkar to bat lower in the order in the ODIs. Laxman, who is not usually drawn into controversies, could not hold himself back when he said in 2014: "The year 2006 was the worst dressing room I've been part of. There was needless division of seniors and juniors… it was a turbulent phase… there was a lot of tension." Tendulkar said Chappell set Indian cricket several years backwards.

Ravi Shastri was made an interim coach soon after the World Cup for a brief while – it may be mentioned that Sunil Gavaskar also acted as the India team coach when Wadekar suffered a heart ailment during a tournament in Sharjah – before Kirsten began his sweet association with Dhoni. The culmination of that relationship was India regaining the World Cup after a 28-year gap, in 2011.

Kirsten was ushered into the role full time with assistance from Lalchand Rajput, who was named cricket manager for the inaugural World T20 in 2007 and held on to that post for the full tour of Australia in 2007-08 when Kirsten joined the team.

Kirsten's tenure high point

Kirsten believed in working behind the scenes and not just giving throw-downs after throw-downs until his shoulders ached. He gave the players the freedom to make choices. Some of the famous Test wins, which began to be achieved under Ganguly and Wright, continued with Dhoni and Kirsten.

(Gary Kirsten)

Kirsten became so Indian during his tenure that you ask him about the memories of his coaching days and he says: "We just went on a journey. I went on a journey as much as the Indian players in understanding how we can create an environment of success. That was as simple as that. It was as much an enjoyment for the players as it was for me. The thing that stood out for me was the goodwill of the Indian people towards a South African. I certainly would not have expected that. I was humbled by that, especially on the World Cup day (April 2, 2011). It left me very emotional to leave the shores of India three days later knowing that I had a three-year journey that was the most memorable time of my life. It was probably the most significant highlight of my cricketing career."

Duncan Fletcher, the Zimbabwean all-rounder who had tremendous results with England as coach, had mixed results after succeeding Kirsten. He may have had some powers taken away with the creation of a Team Director's post following the 4-0 drubbing in Tests in England but credit cannot be taken away for his role in India's Champions Trophy triumph in 2013 against his old team.

When the players' popular choice, Shastri took over, it was also the time when the all-powerful Kohli was gradually settling down as the new Test captain. The captain and Team Director had the same wavelength and encouraged the team to play positive cricket with the intent to win at any cost. Losing a game did not worry them as long as the effort to win was there.

(Ravi Shastri with R Ashwin)

Shastri may come across as a happy-go-lucky guy but he was a hard task master in his own way. He was also the players' man. They confided in him their personal matters and sought solutions. After all, being on the road for 10 months of the year is not easy for the players. They go through phases when they need attention on the home front and there they are representing the country many seas away.

Shastri kept the team united and was a father-figure to them. The team, under him, entered the semifinals of the 2015 World Cup and also the 2016 World T20. When the team was settling down well under Shastri after Fletcher's term ended with the 2015 WC, the Board of Control for Cricket in India decided to change to Kumble.

The Kumble-Kohli rift

The results under Kumble have been outstanding with India winning every series – Tests, ODIs and T20Is – they took part in, besides entering the Champions Trophy final.

But Kumble's decision to resign as his partnership with Kohli was "untenable" was not the ideal situation that the Indian team needed, considering that the platform that he had set and the important foreign tours that India will have in the next couple of seasons.

(Anil Kumble)

If people in the know of the Indian dressing are to be believed, India under Kohli have done well "in spite of the differences between the players and Kumble".

"A good coach is a man-manager that helps the team to unwind. Going hard over and over again over a couple of mistakes, and obviously the players will not be keen to have him," said an insider.

INDIA'S COACHES OVER THE YEARS

AJIT WADEKAR, 1992–1996 (8/10)

Highlights: India remained unbeaten in 14 consecutive Tests from January 1993 to December 1994, winning nine. India also won Hero Cup title in ODIs.

SANDEEP PATIL, 1996 (2/10)

Highlights: Assisted Wadekar in 1996 World Cup before being the main coach for India tour of England. The infamous spat between Navjot Sidhu and captain Md Azharuddin that resulted in the former abandoning the tour half-way was not handled well by Patil.

MADAN LAL, 1996–1997 (4/10)

Highlights: Won one-off Test for the inaugural Border-Gavaskar Trophy and the home series against South Africa before losing in South Africa and the West Indies. It was under Lal that India conceded the highest total in Tests, 952/6 dec, to Sri Lanka.

Guided India in 14 Tests across five series, won 3, lost 4, drew 7

ANSHUMAN GAEKWAD, 1997–1999 & 1999-2000 (6/10)

Highlights: India won Independence Cup in 1997, Anil Kumble took Perfect 10 in a Test against Pakistan in 1999, India reached final of ICC Knock Out tournament in Kenya in 2000, losing to New Zealand.

Guided India in 14 Tests across 6 series and an Asian Test Championship, winning 4, losing 5 and drawing 5.

KAPIL DEV, 1999–2000 (2/10)

Highlights: His tenure as coach was forgettable, losing 3-0 in Australia and 0-2 against South Africa at home. He had to resign after his name was dragged in the match-fixing controversy.

Guided India in 8 Tests across three series, won 1, lost 5, drawn 2

JOHN WRIGHT, 2000–2005 (8/10)

Highlights: Took over Indian cricket from the turbulent match-fixing saga and forged a long, successful partnership with Sourav Ganguly. India began winning Tests overseas including in England and Australia besides entering 2003 World Cup final for the first time since 1983.

Guided India in 50 Tests, won 20, lost 14, drew 16

GREG CHAPPELL, 2005–2007 (1/10)

Highlights: An unforgettable tenure in Indian cricket. Under him saw the ouster of Sourav Ganguly from the team, lost series in Pakistan, India exited 2007 World Cup after first round.

Guided India in 18 Tests, won 7, lost 4, drew 7

RAVI SHASTRI (interim coach), 2007 (5/10)

Highlights: Stepped in for just India's tour of Bangladesh in the aftermath of Greg Chappell's resignation post 2007 World Cup.

Guided India in 2 Tests, won 1, drew 1

LALCHAND RAJPUT (cricket manager) 2007-2008 (5/10)

Highlights: India won inaugural World T20 in 2007 and also the tri-series in Australia in 2007-08, beating Australia in best-of-three-finals 2-0.

GARY KIRSTEN, 2007–2011 (8/10)

Highlights: India winning 2011 World Cup besides drawing Test series in South Africa and Sri Lanka.

Guided India in 40 Tests, won 18, lost 8, drew 14

DUNCAN FLETCHER, 2011–2015 (5/10)

Highlights: Champions Trophy triumph in 2013 and semifinal of 2015 World Cup were his achievements. 4-0 whitewash in England and Australia in 2011 and 2011-12 and home series loss to England in 2012-13 did not augur well, leading to appointment of Team Director Ravi Shastri for ODI leg of England in 2014 and thereafter.

RAVI SHASTRI (Team Director) 2014-2016 (7/10)

Highlights: Team began to play attacking cricket with Shastri as Team Director. Post 2015 World Cup, India won Test series in Sri Lanka and at home against South Africa, and entered semifinal of World T20 in 2016.

ANIL KUMBLE, 2016–2017 (7/10)

Highlights: India did not lose a single bilateral series across all formats, regained No. 1 position in Test after a seven-year gap. Entered Champions Trophy final but differences with captain Kohli forced him to end his association with Indian team.

Guided India in 17 Tests across five series, won 12, lost 1 and drew 4.