He has played a lot of cricket in the last four months and he has had a lot of responsibility in the last four months, which for a young man can be quite draining. I am not sure whether he realised how draining it was. We have only had a few weeks off in the last 12 months. Part of the learning process is having time away, just to reflect on what’s happened and look at how you might continue that improvement.

We weren’t planning to rest him at this stage but we could tell that he was pretty tired, he was a little bit down on confidence, and the best thing we could do at this stage was pull him back and give him a bit of rest mentally and physically. Hopefully, when he comes back fresher and better, he would have had the time to reflect on a number of aspects of his cricket. And I have no doubt he will come back as a better cricketer.

• Is this loss of energy one of reasons why he has lost a significant amount of pace?

I don’t think it has gone down significantly. We have looked at all the videotapes, quite back till the under-19s. He was always bowling around the 130-135 kmph mark. He’s never going to be a pace bowler. I think people have to be disabused of this idea that he’s a pace bowler. He is a swing bowler, who bats well, and that’s his future with Indian cricket. Not as a fast bowler. I don’t know where this myth started but it’s time it was put to bed. He is not a fast bowler.

• You had benefited from renowned sports psychologist Dr Rudi Webster in your own playing days. Now he has worked with the Indian team, what has his contribution been?

We don’t know. I mean, he only had five days with us to interact with the players. Again, no one’s got a magic wand, it’s about exposing the players to different people and different expertise from different fields. We have done that with different people through the time that they have been here and we will continue to do that. I would like to think that we could use Dr Webster again, from time to time.

The biggest part of cricket at this level is the mental aspect of it. All of these guys can play, they wouldn’t have been here if they didn’t have the talent. The ones who go on and make something of that talent are the ones who develop their mental skills to go with it. Rudi talked to us as a group on these aspects and with individuals too. Again, this idea that someone can come along and make an impact instantly is folly.

• Will you seek his help for the 2007 World Cup?

We will wait and see, but the players were very impressed with him and a lot of them felt that they got some benefit. But that’s something the BCCI will decide. We will talk to them about it. But that will happen after this tour.

• You started your second year in office with the one-day series defeat against the West Indies, what impact would this have on the World Cup?

I didn’t expect things to continue going upward the whole time. We were always going to have a few setbacks along the way. Particularly, as this year we have three overseas tours. There are always going to be some tough moments in that period. This has been a setback, it’s been a disappointment, on the one hand. But in some ways, it might be a blessing in disguise, it has pointed out a few things. We have learnt a few things about conditions in the West Indies, which hopefully will help us next year.

• Have you identified your pool of players for the World Cup?

We have got a pool of around 20 players who have played in the past six to eight months. I think the squad will come out of that group, but I can’t tell you which 14 it is likely to be. That decision will be made as late as possible. A lot of things can change, form, fitness, one of those things can change the team’s needs between now and then.

• When the team loses, there is always this criticism that we need to look back at some of the seniors who are not there.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion but we are looking at developing a team for the present and the future. To develop players, you have to give them opportunities. And you have to give them opportunities in the heat of battle. A number of players have been blooded in the last few months and I think most of them have responded reasonably well, most of them have had some success.

The development of the fringe people is equally important. RP Singh, Venugopala Rao and Robin Uthappa are going off to Australia with the A team. These guys, particularly RP Singh, has been around the group for a few months now, but hasn’t played a lot of cricket. What he needs for his development now is to play and have some success. That’s the next step in his development. So, the process is an ongoing one. We will have some setbacks along the way. We understand that. We can’t afford to overreact even if others do.

• How do you handle the senior players in the side? Are you happy with their commitment?

We can always get better as a team. Most teams struggle away from home and Indian cricket is no different from anyone else. We need to learn to cope with being away from the support structures of home. There are always things that can be better, but as far as the players are concerned, I have no problem with any of them. From time to time, you have to speak to players about different aspects of their game or attitude. Cricketers are going to work every day, some days they feel better than others, some days they are happier with the world than they are with others, some days they are on top of the world. You are dealing with all of those fluctuations. So from time to time, you have to take a player way and speak to him. But I would like to think the players understand that each and any time I speak to them, it’s with their best interests at heart and with the best interests of the team at heart.

I know I have had to be critical of a few players from time to time, but in each case they have responded very well. There are other times when a pat on the back and a word of encouragement is all that’s required. Every now and then, you have to speak sternly to someone, just to try and get them refocused on what they have to do.

• Have you ever encountered a clash of cultures during your stint? In India, there’s always a lot of sentiment attached to team selection, how have you handled that?

No differently from any time in the past. I think honesty is the best policy. You need to deal with the truth if you want to be successful at this level. You have to be honest with yourself, you have to be honest with your teammates. I think, as coach, I have to be honest with the players. I don’t know any other way, and that’s the way I am going to be. I think, so far, the players have understood that and have respected it.

• Are you happy with the selection process in India?

Since I have been here, the selection panel has been very helpful, very supportive. I think they have taken some tough decisions and some bold decisions in looking at youth, with time to develop players before the World Cup. I think Kiran More (chairman of selection panel) can take a lot of credit for that. His chairmanship has been bold and positive.

• You have worked for nearly a year with Rahul Dravid as captain, what is the chemistry involved in your relationship with him?

He’s a very professional cricketer, a very intelligent fellow with a lot of integrity. He is always trying to improve himself, his cricket. I think his leadership has been instrumental in the successes that we have had on the field over the last few months. He, like anyone who takes on the role, is learning the role of captaincy and will continue to the day he finishes. He and I have known each other for quite some time although we have never been that close. But I think there’s mutual respect there, mutual understanding of our roles. We try and give each other as much space to do what needs to be done. I give him the respect for his expertise and knowledge, as well as his playing abilities, he gives me the respect for my experience and knowledge. I think we have forged a good working relationship. I think the important aspect of it is that I believe the captain’s role is the most important and I respect his position. On game days, if I see that there’s something where I can be of some use, I will give some input. But otherwise, I leave it to him to make the cricket decisions. My job is in the preparation of the team.

• So are you saying that the final call is taken by the captain, every time?

Absolutely. We discuss everything. Even from the preparation of the team, I always run it past him first, but generally, he has left it to my judgement. We discuss aspects of selection, team make-up, looking to the future, and the sort of cricketers we are going to need both in Test cricket and one-day cricket. But at the end of the day, he’s the one who’s got to captain the team on the field. And it’s his record that’s going to be affected by what happens. So I believe he should have the right to the final say.

• Do you think there are any areas where he can improve as captain?

He can improve in many areas just from the experience of doing the job. Just from experiencing more happenings and incidents on the cricket field, his understanding and application on the job will improve.

• What will you expect from Sachin Tendulkar once he returns from injury?

We don’t know what to expect. Hopefully, he will be fit and we are expecting him to come through the rehabilitation soon. It was always going to be a challenge for him to be ready for this series. We hoped he might get through. Early indications were that he was progressing well. But he had a minor setback towards the end, which probably wasn’t unexpected because it was unlikely that he would go through the rehab without some sort of a setback. So what we expect is Sachin to come back confident and positive about his cricket.

There’s no doubt in my mind that he has a role to play in one-day cricket and Test cricket. We saw last year, after he came back from the previous operation how reinvigorated he was. He played half-a-dozen innings in that time that very few people could play. I have no doubt he can do it again. But we have also got to understand that he is a player who has been around for 17 years. It’s not easy to come up with the mental energy and mental commitment that it takes, nor the physical effort that goes into it. We have to treat him accordingly. We will need to be very careful with his progress when he comes back. I don’t know if we can expect to play him in every game. So we will have to judge when to play him and when not to play him.

• What has been the biggest achievement for you in your first year with Team India?

I am not sure there’s a ‘‘biggest’’ achievement. Any cricket team is a work in progress and we are trying to get better in all areas. But I think the turnaround in one-day cricket probably is the thing that you could point to if you need to point to one particular thing. I think there has been a change of attitude and approach to one-day cricket, the way we play it.

• But what about the two Tests that we lost to Pakistan in Karachi and England in Mumbai—do you consider them as failures during that period?

Not really. I don’t look at things in that light. It’s not that black and white. Life is about taking opportunities, about learning, it’s about trying to improve yourself in all areas. If we are only going to judge ourselves on wins and losses, we will make some huge mistakes. We will make mistakes in selection, we will make mistakes in developing players. I think part of my role is not only to concern myself with today and winning games, but it is also about developing players for the future. I can be very selfish and just worry about what happens in my time. But that misses a very big part of what this role is, which is to develop players.

I inherited certain players at certain stages of their career, some finishing their careers, some starting. And whoever is the coach of the team after me will be in a similar position. I hope that I can leave behind a group that’s strong, understands the basics of the game and what is required to be successful at this level. Obviously, winning and losing is important, but if we only focus on the outcome, then we will make mistakes. Teams that succeed are teams that understand the basics very well and put them into practice consistently. That’s what we are trying to do with this team. We are going to lose some games along the way, we sometimes have to play players who may be not quite ready. But if we are going to develop them then that’s what we have to do. That’s what I will continue to do.

-ajay.s.shankar@expressindia.com