And so this unnecessary, I suspect unwanted, series continues, alternating between stifling heat and incessant rain. There is much happening around Indian cricket in Bangladesh and not much has to do with the cricket on the field. It is an area of concern when that happens. When the focus shifts away from the game, towards contracts and coaches in this case, a team is ripe for the taking. The coach and the captain, getting along well by all accounts, have a job on their hand merely keeping the attention focused on a Test match.

They need to reach out to a couple of players as well who must be feeling confused, angry, unwanted. Indeed, that is the primary job of a coach and I hope that those in charge of appointing a man to that job search for those qualities as well.

I must confess I have been a bit bewildered by some of the statements appearing in the papers and on news channels (one of which, an exclusive, I know to be patently false!). A lot of names of former cricketers are being thrown around and while that is not bad in itself, the reasons are strange, even poor. The two attributes thrown up most often are that a player has a good record and therefore commands respect. Neither of those is too useful beyond a point and if anything, deserve to be minor qualifications.

More important, we need to see if the new coach is selfless, always available and possessed of a giving nature because cricketing acumen is taken for granted at this level. These are key qualities of managers and the ability to manage people is always on the top of a wish list of abilities. Great coaches, in any aspect of life, whether a music teacher, a physics teacher or a managing director, are patient people, willing to suffer mistakes if they have spotted potential. They should be willing to spend an off day with a player who is feeling threatened or uncomfortable. Great records do not always impart such qualities to people. They could reside in the same person but possession of one is not even a necessary, let alone sufficient, reason to appoint someone.

... contd.