text:
BCCI officials ramp up pressure on Fletcher
Duncan Fletcher is on notice, and will be assessed on his performance each series. That's the message to India's coach from the BCCI, though what is also clear is that Fletcher will have little part to play in the ODI series in England, with Ravi Shastri being given charge of all cricket-related activities.
The decision to clip Fletcher's wings, by effectively replacing his two assistant coaches with three from the BCCI's stable, and by putting Shastri above him, is believed to stem from the anger and disappointment of India's astonishing capitulation from a winning position in the Test series to eventually lose 3-1.
A senior BCCI official, who was privy to the discussions, said Shastri would be the go-to man for all "cricket-related activities" during the ODI series in England. "Fletcher will be there but for this tour Ravi will look after all cricketing aspects for this ODI series."
Several officials ESPNcricinfo spoke to were unwilling to commit to Fletcher's future but indicated he had been sidelined. More clear is the future of Trevor Penney, the fielding coach, and Joe Dawes, the bowling coach, the feeing in the BCCI being they were not doing their jobs properly.
Fletcher had been the target of severe public criticism through India's 8-0 run of defeats in England and Australia in 2011, but the BCCI stuck by him and renewed his contract for a year this April, with secretary Sanjay Patel saying the board had complete confidence in the coaching staff. Fletcher is now believed to have lost support and the BCCI seems keen on making the point that Tuesday's decision was not an abrupt one, rather the culmination of events over the past few months.
What hurt the BCCI hierarchy most was the manner in which India lost the three Tests in England this summer. It forced them to take notice and act swiftly. "The Indian team is not performing. What went wrong?" Anurag Thakur, the BCCI joint secretary, said. "You need to look at whether it was the coach and support staff, whether it was the selection of the team or there is problem in coordination. So at this stage, when the team for the ODIs has been picked, the best you can do is to have more people engaged who can work closely with the Indian cricket team.
Ranjib Biswal, the IPL chairman and a top board functionary, indicated the positive presence of Shastri would inject the dose of competitive spirit back in the team. "When the team is demoralised you need the someone to lift the morale. Ravi has the experience and he has done it earlier," Biswal said.
According to Thakur, the decision to appoint new coaching staff was taken only on Monday. "The BCCI should take some decision for the betterment of cricket. The selectors can have the autonomy to pick the player. But the only option left with the BCCI was to see how we could help the players and Indian cricket by bringing in these three people.
"What was the need of Ravi Shastri? I felt something was missing - maybe the communication gap between the coach and the players," Thakur said. "A person like Shastri can boost the morale of the team. Nothing wrong in trying in the ODI series when you are doing so badly."
The string of overseas series defeats was becoming unbearable under Fletcher's watch, one senior official said. "Some shake-up was needed. You can't just get blown away for three Tests in a row in less than 40 or 50 overs. Agreed the coaches are as good as the players, but if you are not evoking the same kind of confidence it does not help. The effort is there but if the results are not coming then people will raise questions."
Nagraj Gollapudi is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo
Comments have now been closed for this article
Dummy4 on August 21, 2014, 10:45 GMT
Batsmen are allowed leeway on many occasions when it has come to cricket starting from the helmet. They now have a variety of shots that was not exactly their not even a few decades ago. By comparison bowlers should have gotten metal spikes on the leather to at least remotely come close to what the batsmen got. But none the less 15 degrees should be the limit given to a bowler, not because of honour, integrity or whatever the medieval codes of chivalry that Mr. Crow seems to be stuck on ( Those went out the door when India decided to rule Cricket with a iron fist with it's two little.....well you know, and everyone excluding two countries voted against it). It's because almost all bowlers can ball their deliveries within that limit, even the doosra (of course most of the time you need to be born with an abnormality like murali). And if a select few chooses to ignore the rule that is followed by everyone then that individual should be penalized for it.
Dummy4 on August 21, 2014, 9:51 GMT
Like Sri Lanka, India should have played a 2 match series - then they would have like Sri Lanka won 1 - 0. Their mistake demanding a 5 test series, forcing Sri Lanka to play a 2-Test series.
Bhaskar on August 21, 2014, 6:16 GMT
Replace Duncan with Stephen Fleming & Test captain with Ashwin everything will be alright. Dhoni can play as a player in all 3 formats & be the captain of limited overs cricket.
Vasu on August 21, 2014, 5:31 GMT
One of the factor that needs to be considered is the weather in UK at this time of the year. The overcast skies and the heavy aire leading to excessive swings and deviations which the English bowler exploited wonderfully. Usually Indian batsment now are used to facing short pitched balls but this freakishweather (which seem to be more frequent when India was batting) made a lot of difference. This may be the only reason to explain why all of our batsment failed to perform.
Suj on August 21, 2014, 4:29 GMT
" Cpt.Meanster - Remember how poor England are in Indian conditions. The only reason you won 2-1 recently was cause of Panesar and Swann. Your next trip to India won't be a good one. "
So what if England won "only" because of Panesar and Swann? They played for England so weren't they supposed to perform for them? And don't you remember Cook and KP trouncing your bowlers? Even if the series win was a one-man show, it still doesn't make it irrelevant. The point is England has now comprehensively destroyed and dismantled India three times over three series in both English and Indian conditions. End of story. England proved that they can play better than you in your own backyard. And not just a bit better but much much better
Bharat on August 21, 2014, 4:25 GMT
Oh great! They have changed the staff, for India's strength and England's weakness (ODI's). What is the use of this inconsequential series, in which by form India should be winning this 3-2 or 4-1. Thinking about it India are almost there, in Johanessburg SA were not enthusiastic to go for the target, they dominated SA in the first test. Even here in England they played well till Lords. It is a sign in the right direction. The reason they capitulated is because of top 4 ( barring Vijay), look at the good that came out of the Duncan's time they won the Champions Trophy 2013 and now we have a reliable Bhuvi, Jadeja, Ashwin, we did play well in NZ. Things are Okay, definitely an up in the ODI side. This is sending a wrong message it says " We have a bad coaching staff that is why we lost and will loose the ODI's" rather than " We have a better ODI team, let us see you beat us now".A decision this close to WC 2015, really not a great move.
Android on August 21, 2014, 4:10 GMT
@Cpt.Meanster you have to accept that both Eng & Ind are two average teams in current international cricket arena.
Jay on August 21, 2014, 1:05 GMT
@hhillbumper: Remember how poor England are in Indian conditions. The only reason you won 2-1 recently was cause of Panesar and Swann. Your next trip to India won't be a good one. Jimmy Anderson, that goes doubly for you. Simply put, both teams don't know how to play outside their backyard. So realistically speaking my friend, England haven't gained anything by beating India and India haven't lost anything by losing. It's just history repeating itself.
Inam on August 20, 2014, 21:16 GMT
i am not sure why the Indian batting keep making the same mistakes over and over, Fletcher should be able to mould this batting line for better, top 5 batsmen could not handle the moving ball outside the off stump. It is not easy to play in England but India batting flaws were exposed for a very long period of time. Maybe India need an Indian coach. I don't think changing players will do any good these players are there for a while but need to be improving, when India lost 8-0 against Eng and Aus their top batsmen were in the team and they still lost pretty badly, not sure why anyone is surprised from the performance with players with lot less experience.
stuart on August 20, 2014, 20:33 GMT
to all you indian fans saying they should play county cricket. Seriously after the way you have played in the series over here what county would pay money. You are terrible outside of Asia. The only good one was Dravid and Srinath.
Dummy4 on August 21, 2014, 10:45 GMT
Batsmen are allowed leeway on many occasions when it has come to cricket starting from the helmet. They now have a variety of shots that was not exactly their not even a few decades ago. By comparison bowlers should have gotten metal spikes on the leather to at least remotely come close to what the batsmen got. But none the less 15 degrees should be the limit given to a bowler, not because of honour, integrity or whatever the medieval codes of chivalry that Mr. Crow seems to be stuck on ( Those went out the door when India decided to rule Cricket with a iron fist with it's two little.....well you know, and everyone excluding two countries voted against it). It's because almost all bowlers can ball their deliveries within that limit, even the doosra (of course most of the time you need to be born with an abnormality like murali). And if a select few chooses to ignore the rule that is followed by everyone then that individual should be penalized for it.
Dummy4 on August 21, 2014, 9:51 GMT
Like Sri Lanka, India should have played a 2 match series - then they would have like Sri Lanka won 1 - 0. Their mistake demanding a 5 test series, forcing Sri Lanka to play a 2-Test series.
Bhaskar on August 21, 2014, 6:16 GMT
Replace Duncan with Stephen Fleming & Test captain with Ashwin everything will be alright. Dhoni can play as a player in all 3 formats & be the captain of limited overs cricket.
Vasu on August 21, 2014, 5:31 GMT
One of the factor that needs to be considered is the weather in UK at this time of the year. The overcast skies and the heavy aire leading to excessive swings and deviations which the English bowler exploited wonderfully. Usually Indian batsment now are used to facing short pitched balls but this freakishweather (which seem to be more frequent when India was batting) made a lot of difference. This may be the only reason to explain why all of our batsment failed to perform.
Suj on August 21, 2014, 4:29 GMT
" Cpt.Meanster - Remember how poor England are in Indian conditions. The only reason you won 2-1 recently was cause of Panesar and Swann. Your next trip to India won't be a good one. "
So what if England won "only" because of Panesar and Swann? They played for England so weren't they supposed to perform for them? And don't you remember Cook and KP trouncing your bowlers? Even if the series win was a one-man show, it still doesn't make it irrelevant. The point is England has now comprehensively destroyed and dismantled India three times over three series in both English and Indian conditions. End of story. England proved that they can play better than you in your own backyard. And not just a bit better but much much better
Bharat on August 21, 2014, 4:25 GMT
Oh great! They have changed the staff, for India's strength and England's weakness (ODI's). What is the use of this inconsequential series, in which by form India should be winning this 3-2 or 4-1. Thinking about it India are almost there, in Johanessburg SA were not enthusiastic to go for the target, they dominated SA in the first test. Even here in England they played well till Lords. It is a sign in the right direction. The reason they capitulated is because of top 4 ( barring Vijay), look at the good that came out of the Duncan's time they won the Champions Trophy 2013 and now we have a reliable Bhuvi, Jadeja, Ashwin, we did play well in NZ. Things are Okay, definitely an up in the ODI side. This is sending a wrong message it says " We have a bad coaching staff that is why we lost and will loose the ODI's" rather than " We have a better ODI team, let us see you beat us now".A decision this close to WC 2015, really not a great move.
Android on August 21, 2014, 4:10 GMT
@Cpt.Meanster you have to accept that both Eng & Ind are two average teams in current international cricket arena.
Jay on August 21, 2014, 1:05 GMT
@hhillbumper: Remember how poor England are in Indian conditions. The only reason you won 2-1 recently was cause of Panesar and Swann. Your next trip to India won't be a good one. Jimmy Anderson, that goes doubly for you. Simply put, both teams don't know how to play outside their backyard. So realistically speaking my friend, England haven't gained anything by beating India and India haven't lost anything by losing. It's just history repeating itself.
Inam on August 20, 2014, 21:16 GMT
i am not sure why the Indian batting keep making the same mistakes over and over, Fletcher should be able to mould this batting line for better, top 5 batsmen could not handle the moving ball outside the off stump. It is not easy to play in England but India batting flaws were exposed for a very long period of time. Maybe India need an Indian coach. I don't think changing players will do any good these players are there for a while but need to be improving, when India lost 8-0 against Eng and Aus their top batsmen were in the team and they still lost pretty badly, not sure why anyone is surprised from the performance with players with lot less experience.
stuart on August 20, 2014, 20:33 GMT
to all you indian fans saying they should play county cricket. Seriously after the way you have played in the series over here what county would pay money. You are terrible outside of Asia. The only good one was Dravid and Srinath.
Tony on August 20, 2014, 19:31 GMT
If any of them are serious about doing well in England they seriously need to consider county cricket. But of course that is unlikely that they will drop IPL or aren't selected for the ODI squad. India definitely have potential to be number 1 but I doubt they can ever hold it the same way Australia or England do because of such standardized wickets. I doubt Shastri is the right decision as he might put unnecessary pressure on the team. Possibly a Ganguly or Dravid might have a more calming and sibling relationship with the team which is what they need than a tonne of bricks being thrown at them questioning their pride.
jayaesh on August 20, 2014, 17:25 GMT
Too many fans are blaming these defeats on mainly IPL,overdose of 50 overs cricket, people with inherent biases and agendas are bringing IPL into it , then how do you explain the Lord's win which happened inspite of IPL ?? encouraging performances in SA and NZ ?? India has been losing tests in overseas conditions long before IPL came in.I saw similar discourse when Australia was beaten by England last summer , Aussie posters were saying IPL,BBL,shorter formats has destroyed the technique of young Aussie batters and Shield cricket was being undermined but i guess after Aus thrashed Eng 5-0 in the latest Ashes all that has changed.Playing Country cricket might help medium pacers build stamina like Zaheer Khan and spinners to be patient but it does not help transform a batsman,out of all English players only Sam Robson,Jordan,Woakes,Ballance plays regularly at County level and Robson looks the worst English batter out there in terms of technique and Wokes,Jordan pretty average bowlers
Dheeban on August 20, 2014, 16:25 GMT
The coaching changes are fine. But what about the players? Some of them should be dropped. Same with selection committee. Some heads should roll there as well for selecting players like Gambhir, Rohit Sharma and Shami. Next, what about BCCI itself? They are the ones who oversaw the 0-8 in Eng and Aus earlier and now this 1-3. Secretary or President whoever that is in-charge of the cricketing matters, they should go as well.
Dummy4 on August 20, 2014, 16:07 GMT
Sorry to Say, that we need a new Coach..D. Flecther is not doing anything to the Team, We have a good team, but it is performing badly.....
He is knowing for disaster Test Series, be it as an English Coach or as an Indian Coach,
Keep in mind, this time, India was facing a deflected English Team, so the loss is actually worse than 3-1
Ali on August 20, 2014, 15:51 GMT
Fletcher is not the chief selector ...
penkat should have played all the tests rohit should have played all the tests
Binny should not have been in any test
the selectors need to take a hike .....
though catching and fielding was poor ..
Kumar, Inshant, Aron, Penkat ---- main bowlers + 1 Spin/all rounder ....
India should have played 4 bowlers and 6 batsmen .... 3 seamers + 1 spinner ......
Bhaskar on August 20, 2014, 15:43 GMT
Replace Duncan with Stephen Fleming & Test captain with Ashwin everything will be alright. Dhoni can play as a player in all 3 formats & be the captain of limited overs cricket.
Dummy4 on August 20, 2014, 13:16 GMT
Picking Flecher as the coach in the first place in 2011 was a mistake. He was pass his shell life as a coach. The bowling coach has been a total failure throughout, and he should have been send packing long time back. So it was the BCCI who got it all wrong right from the outset. Not sure the current sudden spurt of activity on their part is going to make much of a difference.........
AJay on August 20, 2014, 12:11 GMT
The decisions that BCCI make are bizzare. When Fletcher's contract was renewed in April this year, the Indian had not won a single test away in 14 and lost 11. Why was he not terminated then? If they were wiling to give him this last chance why not make that conditional?
Suddenly they wake up after 4 months into the new contract and side-line him. Please, have the guts to admit your error, let him go and start building for the future. Australia did it in 2012, in the middle or just before an Ashes series, and look where they are at now.
As I have been saying for a long time, the administration of Cricket in India needs an overhaul. Cricket, in revenue terms it must rank alongside the largest companies in the country, yet it is managed, without transparency in a way that brings shame and embarrassment to the country. How far does the team have to sink before they do more than just tinkering?
Bhaskar on August 20, 2014, 12:10 GMT
Its a good part from bcci. Teams failed because the players did bat bowl and fielded wel. Every1 knows that. But if the coaches cannot address and correct those then what are they paid for. They all should be sacked instead of giving break to them.
Guru on August 20, 2014, 12:03 GMT
Whoever teach, finally the student has to take the exam. Sometimes because of exam fear/tension even bright student don't do the exam well, the same thing happened to Indian batting. Honestly they took the exam worse than Mr. Bean. Kohli tried hard, his brain says can do it but his mind is worrying about where the off stump is, so he was completely out of control. As someone mentioned, currently Indian team need good yoga/meditation master to control their mind and bring the positive energy, blaming the coach or changing the coach will not give results.
Martin on August 20, 2014, 11:44 GMT
It's a bit harsh BCCI trying to pin it on Fletcher and make him the scapegoat. Just like Chappell before him, Fletcher has encountered the vested interests and cliques - and he has not been able to do anything about them. With England Fletcher had a good record - winning series away in South Africa and then presiding over Englands epic 2005 Ashes victory over Australia. Duncan Fletcher IS a good coach, it's just that he clearly has no influence whatsoever.
Sudhakar on August 20, 2014, 11:38 GMT
BCCI has done the best in given circumstances. Its easy to be critical but team needs reinvogoration from the trenches and surely Fletcher doesnt come across as someone who can kick up palyers in backside and motivate them to perform for country. Morover he should bear responsibility for some atrocious decisions such as batting first in Manchester on a green track (just because you chose one full time and one parttime spinner as part of final 11) and not rectifying mistakes in slip cordon in entire series. There also seems to lack of comminication between coah and captain but Dhoni is best available at moment and cant be replaced.Maybe Shastri's strong personality is wht is required.
Good luck to team India!!1
david on August 20, 2014, 11:32 GMT
sada sivam D F can be blamed on some matters. but to say he was the reason the indians did not go for the win is hogwash. i think most coaches where Dhoni has not much say. the best thing for india would have the captain retire from tests and concentrate of odis 20/20. then select a young captain to work with fletcher.
Android on August 20, 2014, 11:16 GMT
Indian team's overseas performance so pathetic that if this was any other team like SA, Aus or Eng lot of people would have lost their jobs. But BCCI is special in these terms they are more concerned Bout their profit share rather than team performance. Zim or Ban would have given stronger fight to Eng than India. No disrespect to Zim or Ban. Indian team did not show any passion, any hunger to win a game or at least try to play for a draw when they knew the forecast. Mr Shashtri got it spot on these are glam boys who have made enough $$$ that anyone can just dream of. very disappointed with the overall performance but everyone knows nothings going to happen people will forget about this and move on. this is how we roll.
Sharath on August 20, 2014, 11:05 GMT
This is a knee jerk reaction surely.. A coach and his support staff who were found good enough in April 2014 for an extension of contract suddenly finds themselves in the cold due to 2 bad tests.. What do the BCCI feel?? The players are not the reason and the coaching staff are?? Unless there are some conflicts going on between the coach and some of the players like what we saw in the Greg chapell era, this is purely due to the technical short comings of the players.. The 2 players who were thought of as key to India's fortunes failed miserably. Slip fielding was abysmal and made a lot of difference...among the pitches, Lords had the max green tinge and we won there.. so what went wrong in the last 3 matches where conditions were much favourabe for Indians? As regards Dhoni's captaincy he was praised by all for forcing Ishanth to bowl the way he should have which resulted in our win. Also what we need to think is who is there to replace him? At test level, the answer is still "NO".
Dummy4 on August 20, 2014, 11:04 GMT
Test series is over now, the ODI (F50) and T20 will start now soon. The main question by england team fans is whether england can win these shorter version serieses too? In odi series even 3-2 margin is fine too because a series victory is series victory but can england accomplish it which is the main question. One thing is sure india is going to perform in odi & t20 much much better than what they performed in the test series so england has to come up with some great performance to beat india. If england bats first a total of minimum around 325 is needed, if england bowl first then getting india all out for less than 225 is needed, if these parameters can be achieved then only england can hope to win against india considering that india is among the best teams in the shorter versions of cricket game. I hope england can win the ODI & T20 serieses too. Good lucks england!
Dummy4 on August 20, 2014, 10:39 GMT
It was a very good decision from BCCI to go for a 5 test series. Otherwise Indian team would have left England with a wrong feeling that they improved in tests. My thinking from what I seen actually in the live coverage is England should not over estimate them selves here, because they are still very low when comparing to Aussies/South Africa/Srilanka/pakisthan etc. This Indian team is below average and they were in good position in the first two tests due to many mistakes from Cook and English bowlers. Situation will be back to square for England when they play against good teams.
Dummy4 on August 20, 2014, 10:20 GMT
its not going to be easy in the odi's up and unless our batters find out a way to tackle this conditions and our bowlers get a measure of it i feel the team should be dhawan rohit kohli rahane raina dhoni ashwin jadeja/binny bhuvi shami kulkarni and our players have to get them out of thir fears of what happened in the test series .lets hope for a much better performance and the built up of onfidence
PRIYANK on August 20, 2014, 10:17 GMT
would also request Cricinfo to allow more space to write our opinions so that all of us can give our suggestions, we all are disappointed and want our Cricket team to deliver.. if we are allowed to give our suggestions may be someone in BCCI would read and think on them!! If people from non-cricketing background can hold chief posts in BCCI or become selectors; surely we, the public also deserves to have a say!!!!
PRIYANK on August 20, 2014, 10:12 GMT
I am not convinced with the appointment of Ravi Shastri, its still not clear what role he will play if a support coaching staff has been appointed with Fletcher being still there.. Moreover a coach needs to be given time to work out on players and strategy and where is the time?? after the English tour we have Champions League followed by a needless home series against WI before the long and likely to be gruelling tour to AUS. Better would have been a new coach should have been named even if it may be Ravi Shastri and after ENG tour, series to WI is cancelled only a conditioning camp should be held for AUS tour with a view to chose those players for this tour who are likely to be part of WC'2015 so that the Australian experience helps them, or else we'll be running in a circle of same mistakes and reaching nowhere
Kanishka on August 20, 2014, 10:09 GMT
Why is every one on the Fletcher must go band wagon how is he more culpable than Dhoni or for that matter the entire team? The problem stems from choosing players with IPL form as a selection criteria how else would you explain players like Jadeja, Gambhir even Binny being in a squad for test matches? @ITJOBSUCKS you can offer any excuse you want but bottom line is SL won and IND lost, The SL batsmen played the moving ball much better and more importantly all the players showed guts and determination under intense sledging as well as pressure.
Nirmal on August 20, 2014, 9:41 GMT
1) Dhoni should resign as captain from Test and T20. 2) Dhoni Should declare his resignation as captain from ODI post world cup 2015. 3) Dhoni should stop playing as wicket keeper & should play as specialist batsman in all formats. His top priority now is to groom a new captain and keeper. 4) Fletcher should be sacked with immediate effect We still have about six month for world cup to prepare under new coach. Post this ODI and only T20 we have time to find out a new coach.
Dummy4 on August 20, 2014, 9:24 GMT
Duncan Flecther Defensive mindset ruining things.!! In his First series as coach against West Indies. He made The team play so defensive even when they had chances to win it comfortably.. !! Pls sack him
Dummy4 on August 20, 2014, 9:20 GMT
I think there is definitely a case for a different keeper and captain for test matches. Look what happened when England swapped Prior for Buttler. A keeper is always an important voice on the pitch, and when that man is also captain then doubly so. Dhoni wouldn't win selection to the test team on batting alone, so I fear he would have to step aside completely. Naman Ojha or Sanju Samson are both possibilites looking forward in the test arena. Dhoni would of course retain both limited overs team's captaincy. As for who should then be test captain, that is the most difficult question, but it shouldn't be Dhoni. The poor guy is mentally and physically exhausted from captaining ALL THREE formats of INDIAN cricket for many years now.
Mark on August 20, 2014, 9:19 GMT
A few people have mentioned Duncan Fletcher's record with England. It was brilliant until the pressure of the job and a disintegrating team got to him. He took over with England ranked below Zimbabwe in the ICC Test rankings and made England into a formidable team that lost very few series at all between 2002 and 2006, including winning in South Africa, Pakistan and Sri Lanka and sharing a series in India.
Don't blame the coach if the system is broken. When India lost the equivalent Test in 2011 by an innings, they batted 91 overs in the 1st innings and 93 in the 2nd. At The Oval they batted just 90.3 overs in the two innings combined. Indian batsmen are losing the knack of batting a long time for a fighting draw. And that suggests that the players aren't playing enough 4-day cricket, or just don't have the patience to play out long innings any longer.
Tim on August 20, 2014, 9:05 GMT
@Joyce1952 Think you're a little behind the times here. As I understand it, county teams are only allowed one overseas player in the Championship and the 50 over competitions and two in the T20 competition (though they can register four, only two can play in one match). The fact that more than this play is because South African, Zimbabwean and some West Indian players fall under the Kolpak ruling and are therefore entitled under European Community rules to play in the UK - to exclude them would be restraint of trade and actionable under European law.
There is no doubt that the counties have used the Kolpak ruling to dodge the intended limitations on overseas players, but there is not a lot that the cricket authorities can do to prevent it.
Sumit on August 20, 2014, 9:02 GMT
In my opinion IPL has to be blamed for this Test debacle. Before you mark my words as cliches and skip to the next comment, read me out. Yes, IPL encourages the batters to throw their bats around from ball 1, forces bowlers to bowl negative lines, allows players with "Lesser" skills to survive and shine among the greats, we all know and talk about this. But the serious problem I am referring to is that IPL deprives the players an OFF time from the game. IPL is usually played in the Indian Off-Season. In the earlier days this time was used by players to attend to season long niggles, work on and correct batting/bowling techniques flaws, train hard to get ready for the next season and last but not the least use this time to play domestic or county or A tours games. This is all thing of the past, all thanks to the IPL. Players loose out on these benefits for their will to play in the cash rich league. This means that they play continuously throughout the year non-stop,hence the suffering.
G on August 20, 2014, 9:02 GMT
Joyce1952, these foreign players have helped improve the skills of the young players already here, eg Ajmal and Moeen Ali. It is good for county cricket, and it's good for cricket in general. Nobody wants to watch a test side capitulate like India did this summer, we want to see good quality cricket
Android on August 20, 2014, 8:55 GMT
With just 5 days to go for the ODI series, I am really very eager to find out whose names will be there in playing eleven. Can anyone guess as who all should play and not play in the first one dayer.
Sheethal on August 20, 2014, 8:42 GMT
@SDeepalV Are you sure that you watched Eng-SL series ??? B'coz if you've, you wouldn't said that those things....Lords was absolutely road & the 2nd test was played on more of sub-continental kinda pitch during that series whereas ball swung prodigiously during Ind-Eng series sans first test!!! Mahela is gone, sanga is left..we will see how SL performs in the near future!!
RAJARAMAN on August 20, 2014, 8:20 GMT
If Shastri can bring back self-belief into this beleagured team that will show up in the results ... If England has the same bopwling and fielding plan for India in ODIs what difference will it make? The only hope is that the ODI team has a few daring players who can swing the mood around ... Ah, if only this had been a two-test series!!!!
Alex on August 20, 2014, 8:19 GMT
When i say drop MS dhoni not because of his performance in current series. I am off the believer that dhoni method works well if his team has real good fast bowler. When his team is weak , he struggles because his fixed method not gona work. You can't blame dhoni for squandering oppurtunities. Reason for me is that , he is old and not productive TEST player to play as a wicket keeper or batsman. I prefer young guy like kohli given chance early and let him learn on the job. We are already losing with dhoni , why not lose with kohli ? better in a way. It give him experience and correct mistakes is previous series. We really have lots of captaincy materials. Jadeja should be dropped , Rohit sharma should be dropped.
Naresh on August 20, 2014, 8:07 GMT
Agree with @wapuser. Some players need to dropped and by doing this you are sending a clear signal. We need to try out players like Samson, KL Rahul, Vohra, Manan Ohja, Uthappa, Manoj Tiwari, Sandeep Sharma. One just needs to look at the India A, Emerging India, U19 and see that we have won tournaments in places like Oz, SA, NZ. Why not give these guys a go. Surely they cannot collapse for 90-100 runs an innings? We will never know unless we give them that break?
Joyce on August 20, 2014, 8:04 GMT
Why must all these foreign players go to play in county cricket to learn how to play, county cricket should go back to using more local players and give them a chance to go forward, contract foreign players should only be allowed to play 1 or 2 at a time
Muneeb on August 20, 2014, 7:59 GMT
Knee-jerk reaction really, especially in the middle of a series, and more astonishingly before a format that India are good at. Bit of panic, clearly.
I think a better approach would have been to see the tour of England through with the existing structure, then look at re-aligning captaincy and coaches across all formats.
If you look at all India's results over the past 4 years, the one key area which they have consistently failed at is away Tests. The new coaching structure should have the expertise to rectify this. Ganguly and Dravid were the only two captains of recent memory who consistently improved their teams away from home. They should surely play some part in the new coaching structure. For me, Ganguly head coach, Dravid batting coach.
Deepal on August 20, 2014, 7:52 GMT
@RajeshJ, It is a matter to laugh - if you say, latter part of the summer had greater movement than the beginning., but the other way round. Didn't you notice that the wicket was swinging and seaming when Englishmen were bowling and batting paradise when your guys were bowling??? You guys din't bowl well and battered well, in addition never fielded. Sloppy T20 Cricket.. Better rectify the issues bro... DeepalV
Android on August 20, 2014, 7:45 GMT
Each team is strong on their home ground. You cannot criticize or avoid anyone now. when India became no 1 in test cricket all praise went to dhoni. you criticize him for his recent failures. but remember one thing, before wc he has won almost all away tours. I would say it's the problem with bcci and coach. if you ask me I would say ganguly as the best head coach for Indian team with srinath as bowling coach. I would also consider wasim akram or McGrath to take the responsibility of bowling coach.
vamshi on August 20, 2014, 7:38 GMT
After the 2011 debacle Fletcher should have asked few Indian players to play the English counties before going to England 2014,I think it should have definitely helped them anyhow What can a coach or captain can do when the team gets bowled for 100 runs repeatedly,
Dummy4 on August 20, 2014, 7:37 GMT
More than Bating and Bowling, Fielding looks a big concern for Team India now.
All those who dropped catches are so young but still can't bend their backs!!
Basic stuffs are going wrong which need to be taken care by coaching staff!!
No proper plans or techniques tried by Team through out the series, what does coaching staff do before you travel for such an important series??
Coaching staff should have all Indians who knows better of Indian playing style!!
ms on August 20, 2014, 7:37 GMT
It's surprising to see many people blame IPL for the recent loss.IPL is not the reason.Ask players like Sanga,AB Devilliers,Mitchell Johnson they will say how IPL helped them to become better cricketers.If the foreign players can benefit from IPL then why not Indians?The reason is not the IPL, it's the system.The system has to be changed.More bowler friendly pitches have to be made.There are a lot of players who benefited from IPL.So don't blame the IPL alone.
Alok on August 20, 2014, 7:35 GMT
I agree with Reverse_Bat, IPL should be played in 2 year and Indian players should be released to play in CC. This would not only keep the players but also the viewers enthusiastic about both the formats of the game. I read that Pujara has been released by BCCI to play in rest of the County season, so that is a good news.
We need fast pitches, bouncy and swinging pitches in India for Ranji matches and for the preparation before a series played in the countries like Aus, NZ, SA and England.
Dummy on August 20, 2014, 7:24 GMT
Coach fletcher and MSD have only partial effect in these defeats. The players have bulk responsibility. They must be given alarm.BCCI is trying to find scapegoats in MSD and Fletcher to quell the harsh response from the fans.All know that a good coach and captian can be made only by the valued team members . This is not justifying fletcher and MSD, along with them the others also must be punished..
Muhammad on August 20, 2014, 7:19 GMT
It seems win is with the team/captain and the defeat is with the coaching staff. It looks quite obvious that the mighty Players (batsmen) are not performing. Bowlers performed well both in batting and bowling. They need to improve their fitness.
Joseph on August 20, 2014, 7:15 GMT
These are the problems Indian cricket is facing: 1) Remove Dhoni from Captanincy, when he proved constant failure in test cricket. 2) Head coach too diplmatic with poor communication with players. 3) Selectors are disgrace 4) Stop preparing flat pitches in India, India are playing soft cricket. 5) Indian players need to play county cricket, thats how they get tough cricketer not thru IPL. 6) Ban IPL or IPL in every 2 yrs / cut short number of matches. 7) Ex-players must get involved, instead whinning in the commentary box. 8) BRING SEHWAG BACK FOR WI Series, we need attacking opener ON ONE END, Murali and Gambhir are too defensive, that gives any bowler advantage. I want N.Ojha to oopen for WI test series with Murali.
Android on August 20, 2014, 7:15 GMT
You get the feeling Shastri & Dhoni will work well together. Hopefully they'll bring something to the party
Dummy4 on August 20, 2014, 7:03 GMT
Here is my feedback on the last three test matches. I was watching ball by ball no matter whether India bowls or batting. I see there is lot of anxiety, enthusiasm and positive energy to take wickets and bat well when hosts are playing and the same is missing in Indian team. With that positive energy average bowler like Chris Jordan also picks up wickets. I am a medium fast bowler with some local cricket experience and I am sure that I can easily send back few top order Indian batsmen (Pujara, Kohli, Gambhir....etc) to pavilion very early. There is lot of negative energy in the Indian team during their fielding as well. Looks like no body wants to field. Indian team should follow some gally (local) cricket techniques to boost up their energy levels like (team should encourage any bowler when he bowls the first ball every over, fielders should stay very active on the field, bowler should think that he can pick up wicket every ball he is going to bowl....etc)
Dummy4 on August 20, 2014, 7:02 GMT
India lost 8-0 at England and Australia in 2011 but still continued with Duncan Fletcher, at that time they should have had some long term plans in succeeding for the next trip.
But what happened now History repeated!!
So at least now BCCI should take some big decisions and set some long term goals. Also many cricket fans feel an Indian Coach will be doing some good for the Team.
We have many talented retired players available why don't these people get that job instead of going for foreigners??
Finally Cricket is a game whole Nation Loves its more than just a PERSON any one when it maters need to be sacked if nothing good is happening for Team India.
vishal on August 20, 2014, 6:49 GMT
BCCI it's already too late.. Get rid of Fletcher and bring Indian as a coach and the whole staff-- Love, India
brij on August 20, 2014, 6:48 GMT
The first blunder was committed by BCCI by accepting to play a long series of 5 test matches, 5 odi's and a t20 international. Such long tours make players weary and homesick these days.secondly england particularly prepares green tops for india as they did in 2011 and 2014.do not blame IPL. T-20 AND 50 OVER INTERNATIONALS are the future of cricket. Older players who have played only test cricket glorify it because that is the only format they have played.
Jason on August 20, 2014, 6:45 GMT
The problem is the BCCI is looking to apportion all the blame to the wrong people, yes the coach needs to take a hit, but I really believe that if the BCCI want to be competitive in English and Australian conditions they need to release players to play in the CC, Grade cricket or even one of the semi professional English leagues.
They would learn a lot more in 8 weeks about batting and bowling in English conditions than they did on the whole of this tour.
I was never a fan of Fletchers warm up game principles, a game against an FC team needs to be FC in nature not a 15 a side everyone gets a go deal. but that's his coaching method and it works for him,
Does anyone know if the management had lined up specialist English seamers to bowl in the nets with the Indian batsmen or did they rely on members of the Indian squad? As im sure they could have got people like Dave Masters, Magofin, and other county pros to bowl at them for a few days.
Ravi on August 20, 2014, 6:35 GMT
The reason for Indian team's debacle is actually staring at all of us. This Indian team has bunch of players who cannot bat, bowl or take catches - in a competent manner at this level of game. No point in finding scape goats in MSD/ Fletcher. To win test matches, you need to have wicket-taking bowlers. None of our bowlers can bowl fast creating fear in the opposition batsmen. The catching is appalling and absolutely pedestrian. Lastly, the batsmen cannot play genuine pace and swing. In total, this Indian cricket team is just not good enough to play and win against any quality opposition. That's the gospel truth.
Srinivas on August 20, 2014, 6:32 GMT
Part 2: Extrapolate this scenario to Indian Cricketers. They too, will prepare for the 'test' by sweating it out in their net and practice sessions (under the guidance of a coach), but not during the 'test' on the ground. So now, who are these kids going for the 'test' that we are talking about? Are these batsmen as good (read worse) as Courtney Walsh and Glen McGrath were with the bat? Or are we talking of batsmen with some credentials to boot? So, it's not as though these hand-picked young batsmen don't have a clue about batting. This much should be clear. And we also know that they are failing during the 'test'. Chillax and think for a moment. The mistakes they are committing during the 'test' should necessarily be spotted and conveyed to the players; and the means to correct those mistakes are off the field activities. Is it not? Let us give the benefit of doubt to Fletcher and concede that he did his part on all the three fronts. (TBC)
Srinivas on August 20, 2014, 6:32 GMT
Part 1: Let us step back. Shall we? Let us agree on 3 assumptions to start this discussion. 1. Captain is in-charge on the field in taking decisions and 2. Coach is in-charge off the field in spotting, conveying and coming up with means to correct the players' mistakes. 3. BCCI is in-charge of the planning, scheduling and providing players with practice matches, qualitatively as well as quantitatively. Leave the Captain and BCCI for now; more about them later! Let us concentrate on Coach and Players. How do we conclude who is at fault in this cohort? Let us step back again. We all should reasonably agree that we, as students appearing for say IIT JEE, don't master new things during the course of the exam. However, facing the exam for the first time gives us a feel of, the experience of the exam and we won't be as tensed if we had to do the exam the next time. We prepare for our exams in our study room, (under the guidance of able teachers), burning our mid-night oil. Is it not? (TBC)
Gary on August 20, 2014, 6:31 GMT
With only 6 months ahead of the World cup, it is time to sack Flecher and replace him with Gary Kirsten if India really wanted to win the world cup. He knows the players well than anybody. Actually, he has bonded well with the players. He can relieve after the world cup if he wants to (if family need exist). This is high time that BCCI should think about this. The new young players should be given chance than the usual which India picks in view of the world cup. After making the changes 6 months of hard work is well enough for winning the world cup. Better act now than worry tomorrow.
Dummy4 on August 20, 2014, 6:29 GMT
I've been depressed ever since this guy was appointed as our head coach. PLEASE REMOVE HIM ASAP. If this is the performance that he can extract from our playing XI in his OWN HOME CONDITIONS then seriously what good is he elsewhere? I'm not saying it's all his fault, but let me put it this way.. when India won the world cup I gave a lot of credit to Gary Kirsten regardless of how well the Indian team played.. so similarly after such an embarrassment I would give A LOT of blame to the coach (especially seeing where he's from and which team he coached before this) regardless of how shoddy the players have been. Please just leave this guy in England.
Piyush on August 20, 2014, 6:26 GMT
@MinusZero--That means according to you no body plays first class cricket in India.. And those played in tests were selected due to their performance in IPL...???
Nice joke...!!!
sashi on August 20, 2014, 6:24 GMT
My team for australia test series should have these players considering the world cup is around the corner, irrespective of the result the players will be familiar to the conditions from all the grounds in australia. We are defending champions and moreover our weakness is batting considering the pace batteries like johnson, siddle, harris, pattinson.
dhawan, vijay, kohli, pujara, dinesh karthik, yuvi, raina, rahane, dhoni, ashwin, mishra, varon, shami, ishant, umesh, bhuvi
Anil on August 20, 2014, 6:09 GMT
@ Vish2020, I Completely agree with u. How can any one compare this series with Srilanka 2 match series. Who knows, if that series also a 5 Match one then result would have been same. Don't ever look at whole series, look at match wise. Though I completely agree that Our Indians didn't perform at all in the last three tests.
Android on August 20, 2014, 6:06 GMT
I personally want dinesh mongia to be a batting coach for India and please make sanju Samson captain for at least till the world cup.
Dummy4 on August 20, 2014, 6:02 GMT
For the next three years, do not hold IPL...you will see a marked improvement
shaheer on August 20, 2014, 5:56 GMT
The coach is not going to get on the field and play on behalf of all the under performing players. Neither is the captain responsible to cast a spell on all the players. It is ultimately the player who needs to perform. So many comments have come with different perspectives. Stop IPL, prepare bouncy pitches, sack Fletcher, relieve Dhoni of his duties. Why can't we just admit that our players didn't play well. An international player has to perform well in any condition. England and Australia do not make slow pitches at home to prepare for India, yet they win matches and even series here. So it's high time we stop criticizing things which do not matter and instead hit the nets and improve our basics.
Android on August 20, 2014, 5:49 GMT
Its a good decision to have a check on dunchen's performance. Coz as a coach he has done no good overseas. If we take a look at Gary,John write they were good overseas. From 2000 BCCI does not appoint a Indian coach because we had bad performance prior that. So now its time for us to look at another option. Someone like Micky Arther or Stephen Fleming are good choices
Rajesh on August 20, 2014, 5:49 GMT
@Tilak de Silva: Well Sri Lanka did perform admirably, but so too was India in the first 2.5 tests.. The common thing here was that SL and India (for 2 tests) were playing in the starting of English summer when the ball didn't swing prodigiously as it did for the last 3 Indian tests.. So it is negative to say that SL performed better than India.. It would be quite laughable to say that SL too has batting skill to play in the last 3 tests when there were banana swings on offer.. Lets not compare here.. But it is a well-documented fact that the famed Indian batting line-up has miles to learn and develop in terms of skill and technique before they can be compared to their illustrious predecessors (Sachin, Dravid, Laxman Ganguly etc.)..
Balasundaram on August 20, 2014, 5:49 GMT
it is a blame game now. Arrows hitting and missing targets. When India drew the first test and won the second test all were okay, but now Fletcher and MS again are in the spot light. No wonder. We always want India to win all games wherever we play. No chance for other countries at all. This is optimism over defined. Coming back to blame game, who really is responsible for upsetting the team balance? It is who suggested or favored Gambir who rocked the security of Shikar's place - result he wavered from his attacking game and unsuccessful, and who included Binny which affected the team balance terribly. What about Virat - why I see all critics so silent. all goes fair if not good MSD is spared. MSD and Fletcher are the scape goats for for selectors' blunder and non-performing young talents. Is it fair?
Ganesh on August 20, 2014, 5:45 GMT
Amazing!!! In this series, our bowlers managed to take 61 wkts out frm 100 englishman, is this good bowling?... In every test match we drops so much chances in slip cordonn, is this good fielding?... 5 out of 10 indian innings indian batters got out under 150... Is that good batting????... Gone defensive, going defensive, we still want to go defensive huh??? Go aggresive men in blue!!!! My XI for aussie test. 1.vijay 2.Gambhir 3.pujara 4.kohli 5.rahane 6.ROHIT(captain) 7.MSD 8.bhuvi 9.aaron 10.pragyan ojha 11.bumrah.
Obert on August 20, 2014, 5:40 GMT
Many people are missing some very basic things here. The coach's job is to give advice and direction, impart skills and instil confidence into the players. It is the players' responsibility to apply what has been shared with them when they are on the field and to deliver the required performance. As long as the players do not demonstrate the willingness or ability to do this, then anyone and everyone lined up by BCCI will fail.
Ravi has been asked to step in for the ODI series. How, honestly, can a man turn around the team's fortunes in such a short time. All the new guys called in are really just being set up for failure while attention is diverted from both the players and those that select them.
This is sad and pathetic.
Android on August 20, 2014, 5:39 GMT
there are various analogies drawn comparing Indian cricket team with the English football team. how the players are overpaid superstars but get humiliated at the world stage to often. add this to the list - whatever happens first blame the coach.
Dummy4 on August 20, 2014, 5:18 GMT
The fact that SL team kept improving. They survived the first test and beat England to win the series. India's performances kept deteriorating.
Manic on August 20, 2014, 5:04 GMT
3 time triple centurion in first class doesn't look like a batsman at all.
Definitely wake up call to prepare such competitive circumstances in India.
Dummy4 on August 20, 2014, 4:48 GMT
This is pathetic on the part of the board to single out Fletcher and put the blame squarely on him. Need of the hour is complete reassessment of the team selection and out Sunny/Ravi/Amarnath in charge of all the selection decision and dhoni should have as less a say as possible. Replace dhoni with Ashwin as test captain and remove all those who performed poorly in the series. Make fast bouncy sporting pitches in india and instruct these players to play in the Ranji. I don't think the fortunes are gonna completely change in the ODIs overnight. BCCI and Indian Cricket Players, pls learn from CA/CSA/SL. Look at the way Sanga and Jaya made way for Angelo and how are they performing now!! Dumping Fletcher is a regressive decision much similar to the way decisions were made during the series.
deepti on August 20, 2014, 4:44 GMT
We indians needs a coach and player like lehmann and maxwell who gives free license to player to play his own game irrespective of the situation and the player is free to play his shots and win matches for his team.had this indian team even played these 3 test in a one day mode they would have performed much better.had they played freely all the closin feilders had spread and the pressure would have been on the english bowlers
Ashok on August 20, 2014, 4:41 GMT
For once I agree with the BCCI. Teams coached by Fletcher have always been extremely risk averse- remember the negative tactics England frequently employed under his watch? India needs a captain-coach combination that's more aggressive and has the courage to risk losing for the sake of winning.
vishal on August 20, 2014, 4:37 GMT
I love how sri lankan fans are comparing their recent test win in England and saying India didn't play well. Srilanka played two test series and you won 1-0 in the second test in the last over. India if you look at first two tests, we won 1-0 and in second test with quite a nice margin. So please, only count the apples if you have the same amount or else don't bother.
Katragadda on August 20, 2014, 4:37 GMT
It's time to ban IPL first, then build up fast bowling pitches in india otherwise we will see same kind of defeats in every overseas series, even Zimbabwe holding better fast bowlers than us.it's time to review our first class format also because people are scoring triple centuries in india when they comes to overseas they are scoring nothing.
Harvey on August 20, 2014, 4:08 GMT
T20 is what went wrong? India need more focus on first class and test cricket and less on hit and giggle and spin
Himanshu on August 20, 2014, 3:57 GMT
To those who think that Indian team or at least their batsmen do not belong 'in the league', must not forget that the same set of batsmen gave a respectable display of their talent in SA, NZ and even in the first two tests of this series. On a green top in lords with ball moving viciously they help their ground. So clearly the talent is there. It is more a psychological thing and having Ravi may help there. I was never a fan of Fletcher and the test record under his guidance speaks for itself. We have been demolished outside of India and even lost a test series at home. This was almost the same team that rose to no.1 status in test cricket, winning series in England, WI and drawing in SA. Immediately after we had a new coach everything went downhill. I am shocked at why BCCI did not act much earlier. If it were an Indian coach he would have seen the door after the earlier England tour and next Indian coach by the end of Australian tour.
Android on August 20, 2014, 3:36 GMT
Its not the fault of the coach. Players must understand that they are playing for their nation and give full commitment. I can remember how Dravid played in English conditions, he was not afraid of getting hit in the body, injuring himself but not giving away. Its the spirit which lacks in players like Kohli, Rohit & many more. It looks no Dravids or Gangulys in Indian future....
Dummy4 on August 20, 2014, 3:36 GMT
Fletcher need to go. And Dhoni too need to be relieved of Test captaincy. I can accept that our players were not of same level of skills desired for playing in Eng conditions. but what stops them fighting? They did not had enough confidence. I will just give an example. Jadeja played/batted like he does in Lords. But level of confidence shown by him raised the level of whole team and we were able to pull off win. The body language is what I am talking about. But as soon as team entered for 3rd test, body language with a poor decision from Dhoni was that we are gong for draw with 6 batters and 3.5 bowlers. Coach's role starts here, to instill that confidence. Lehman is not known for too much tactical acumen, but when he fields a player, he instills enough confidence in him to perform without fear. Has anything changed in M Johnson's technique? Nope much. But was licensed to bowl as he wanted and results are there to see.
Amila on August 20, 2014, 3:17 GMT
What can a coach do, when the players are not up to the standards?
Yogesh on August 20, 2014, 2:52 GMT
But very less time for Ravi Shastri? Don't you think so? And also it was MSD who has big role in India's win so far, which is why Fletcher's contract was extended. Otherwise, As said by Andrew Ramage, Fletcher is ineffective since 2005.
ESPN on August 20, 2014, 2:42 GMT
i sri lankan but im wactching match meny years what you dint see i will show you. when ranathunga win the world cup he took the controling srilanka cricket what happend after that falling of sri cricket who get the rrsponcibility. no body. same like dhoni did. indians are given him to as he like it. what happend malinga got the world cup t 20. then whats teem your choos. teem not balance. its one day teem. england lose but they learn they mix the teem and get balance. think simply get teem balance dont giveto one person control cricket are teem work.
kushal on August 20, 2014, 2:41 GMT
Kris Srikanth + Gary kirsten ... A great combination India had for 2011 wc as against sandeep patil + fletcher. Hope BCCI looks into Selector's role as well while pointing fingers at the coach as well.
ashish on August 20, 2014, 2:38 GMT
Losing test matches abroad is our habit. We had been getting away with it ever since we got test playing status. When we won Lord's test this series, it was really a shame to know that we won after 28 years. It means this "shame" story has not started just now. We never did well abroad. The comparison is only "how bad we lose". Not playing county is the biggest reason for these losses. Preferring IPL over counties is bizarre. Indian test cricket is already in a coffin, IPL is just another nail in the coffin. Nothing much will be done even after this loss (I'm sure). We will win against WI home series, the same mouse in England will become lions here and it would be us here on espncricinfo praising them in a heap. My only suggestion bring in Saurav Ganguli as a coach not for technical reasons but for putting fire in the belly of the Indian players.
Android on August 20, 2014, 2:38 GMT
absolutely impulsive and emotional decision.Bcci should look at their selection policy, priority on diff formats and equipping players to cope up with 5 test match series and rigours of test cricket.Making these abrupt changes would confuse players and coaching staff more.Making these changes for the ODI series makes no sense anyway as we are supposed to do well in this format.
Dummy4 on August 20, 2014, 2:36 GMT
this is great news, this is first time that board is trying to think like common Indian cricket fan like us. Sanjay bangar is very young and he could be great coach. Ravi shastri can choose a great ODI team. Ravi shashtri does not only look at scoreboard but also has clear understanding under what circumstances the runs were made. i am hoping to see rohit sharma back in ODI side as a opener along with shikhar dhawan, i am sure these guys will fight and atleast give opening partnership of 60-50 runs. we must always look at how can a player contribute in developing partnership. Looking just at how much runs player is making doesnot matter what matter is partnership. if a player is building partnership than he should regular play for the team. Hitting 60-70 runs and building partnership and helping partner as well to take sharp single is better than hitting 80 without building partnership
Siddharth on August 20, 2014, 2:26 GMT
When a team gets out cheap everytime they go in to bat, it's pretty simple to understand that particular team doesn't belong in that league. On top of that when everyone excepts the fact that this is the best set of players in India (Kohli, Pujara, Rahane, Dawan, Rohit Sharma etc.) at present and they couldn't manage 100 runs collectively, it's obvious that the best of India is not fit to play this level of Cricket. Bitter truth. Not sure signing up a Superman or a Spiderman will work to raise the quality of the Cricket as the need of the hour is rigorous efforts and training in different conditions, lots of practice, priority to test over cheer leaders and IPL.
Dummy4 on August 20, 2014, 2:25 GMT
@Faisal Ali: LOL....Thats how every sane institution works...otherwise you could have been selected in Pakistan Cricket Team instead of Akram,Waqar,Yusuf etc. Those who perform, get the chance. If you want to criticize BCCI , come up with something else...there are thousands of ways to do that.
Dummy4 on August 20, 2014, 2:17 GMT
What a Coach will do when given a pathetic team who wet their pants when they face bowlers under swing and seam conditions. If BCCI had a point to prove, Virat Kohli should have been shown the door. He is a liability to the team. That will be a message that no one can take their place for granted. Why retain him after 10 successive failures (barring one innings of 50+ in this series). He doesn't have any clue on facing any of the English bowlers in this condition. Only consolation in one dayers is that Anderson and Broad can only bowl 10 overs, that they won't have more than 2 slips. So India can safely edge and may score 200+ in one dayers that too is a very distant possibility..
What was baffling was the fielding position Dhoni had at slips. When England fielded 5 slips and a gully, why was he having only 3 slips and a gully. We all could see there were lots of balls flying through vacant 4th and 5th slip when England batted. Why not sack Dhoni immediately and send him?
ESPN on August 20, 2014, 1:58 GMT
i am very disappointed to see the way india is playing abroad specially in England and Australia since 2011. i think some hard decision should be taken against indian batsman. it's all indian players fault who even doesn't learn anything from past.
Nick on August 20, 2014, 1:54 GMT
Who really cares about this? Test cricket is dying and it has already been established that it is not India's priority. Any win we get in tests should be savored, and any loss, expected. Then we move on and look forward to the ODIs and the IPL again. That's where the fun is, not to mention that's also where the future of cricket is.
Narendran on August 20, 2014, 1:53 GMT
But if Fletcher is not there to help in overseas matches, we really don't need him. That too if they lost after being on top in the series, he should go. Not sure if he added any value to Indian cricket.
Dummy4 on August 20, 2014, 1:02 GMT
Experience has no short cuts,master,dada,wall and vvs has left rest babies are there with experience of T20 and they followed 5 test series,why not 2 instead of 5,
hasa on August 20, 2014, 0:57 GMT
I'm a SL fan. Good to see subcontinent teams looking coaches from their own backyard. Waqar Younis for pakistan and Marven atapattu for sri lanka. I feel Ravi shastry is a right man to do the job for india. No need to rely on foreign coaches while you have some brilliance in your own like Ravi,sunny,Sachin,Dravid,Anil,Sanjar etc....
Edwin on August 20, 2014, 0:48 GMT
In my opinion India's capitulation can be quite obvious - compare the number of English Test players who play in the IPL and the number of Indian players. The IPL is geared to quick runs on flat and unresponsive pitches, no emphasis on technique and a shot a ball - completely the opposite disciplines that Test cricket demands.
Vikas on August 20, 2014, 0:34 GMT
A coach is only as good as his team. The problem with this team is that there are far too many 20/20 players masquerading as Test players.
Jay on August 20, 2014, 0:24 GMT
The first and foremost thing I would suggest my fellow Indian supporters is learn to respect coaches from INDIA. A foreigner is nothing special. They can't speak our language, they can't understand or comprehend the complications in our culture and society. To them it's all one way traffic and being mechanical. Too bad, India ain't England or Australia. India is a special and deserves an Indian coach through and through to take the team to greater heights. Fletcher is past his sell by date. He should have been sacked following the 2011 whitewash tours to England and Australia. Anyway, it's not too late now. Sack Fletcher, replace Dhoni as test captain and overhaul Indian domestic cricket. 3 easy steps towards success.
Dummy4 on August 20, 2014, 0:23 GMT
At long last our great officials have realized that Fletcher had to go. What took them so long ? What he has done to Indian cricket ??? Well I can see what he has done - he has definitely brought Indian cricket down from the height Kirsten had taken to. My gut feel was exactly the same when I read his appointment as I would agree with Andrew that he did very little for England. But it does not mean replacing coaches Indian team will achieve what we all want. Our players and our money hungry officials are to blame as well. A good team is made on good pitches, strict regime with discipline, proper food, regular training and not to forget the most important of all - the individual dedication.....
Lloyd on August 20, 2014, 0:21 GMT
Test T20s? Maybe that's what the BCCI wants next.
firstly the decision to hire Fletcher was absurd, next to blame him for team losses is appalling. if its the coach's fault, then maybe its also the board's fault that we lost these matches.
Jay on August 20, 2014, 0:02 GMT
People who blame the IPL for everything need to wake up from their test cricket slumber and addiction. It isn't as if India were a global powerhouse in test cricket before the IPL. India's test record has always been pathetic overseas. It was only under Sourav Ganguly India managed to at least win a test match or two away from home. When it comes to an entire series, India has NEVER won anything. You may add the series victory over WI (2006), ENG (2007) and NZ (2009) all by a margin of 1-0 as substantial but that's nothing. Also remember that in two of those series, the team was led by Rahul Dravid back during a time when Kumble and Harbhajan bowled and the Indian batting line up boasted names like Sehwag, Tendulkar, Dravid, Laxman and Ganguly. I am totally exhausted hearing abysmal cries blaming the IPL which is only played for 2 months in a calendar year. What is the team doing during the remaining 10 months ? Answer this question. Cricinfo please publish.
Cricinfouser on August 19, 2014, 23:58 GMT
Poor Duncan cops it, but why?
Have the players made any effort to get used to English conditions? Apart from Gambhir, has anyone made any effort to play county cricket in UK? If not, why not?
The players participated in IPL enthusiastically, instead of planning for this test series. Is that Duncan's fault?
BCCI should be able to cop it on their chin and start the repair / rebuilding phase.
Australia replaced Mickey Arthur with Lehmann, but they did more than just replace the coach. They have given 2 months rest for their players before they embark on a long road trip. I feel that is something BCCI need to take on board. If you copy n paste, you might as well do it fully, not in bits n pieces. Look at the process, look for remedy. Blame game does not do any one any good.
How many Aus players who turned for IPL are in the Australian test / ODI squad? Not too many. Does that tell you something - " Horses for Courses ".
Look outside your stable for Directions
David on August 19, 2014, 23:56 GMT
Contrary to what one or two people are writing here, Fletcher was actually a very good coach for England, and only ran out of steam in his last year or so. But towards the end he did become a little entrenched in a defensive mentality (in every sense), and he took that into his role with India. Alarm bells should have sounded when India refused to go after a run-chase in one of his early tests, needing 60 from 10 overs with 7 wickets in hand. Since then, everything has smacked of this negative caution. India threw this series away as soon as they starting preparing for a draw at Southampton, even before the match started. And their performances have ended up making the current England side looking better than it actually is. Moores will take the credit "for setting a template" (whatever that means), but I still think he does not have the right kind of brain to coach at international level. He is a good county coach who will be found out when we face stiffer opposition.
Dummy4 on August 19, 2014, 23:33 GMT
Why BCCI waited for so long, the action should have started well after 2nd loss. But they were perhaps being soft on Pujara and Kohli, so could not get tuff with the coach. Now when the test series is over, they are after the coach and his team - and the captain. Many players are not performing, they sould be given a shake up as well. If a player is not in form, he should be rested instead of letting him spread the depression to all team. BCCI should take the blame on itself for shielding there favourite players. Why was gambhir in the team, when he was not any better than Shikhar dhawan. So many new players just sit out for an oppurtunity. See how new players like Balance and Joe Root have played. England saw Prior as a liability - so immediately replaced with Butler, who performed pretty well with the gloves and the bat. Kohli and pujara were given too many chances - 10 innings to fail and make conditions worse for all team. BCCI be tough at the right time.
Vikal on August 19, 2014, 22:59 GMT
Many of you are suggesting to replace Dhoni and take away the test captaincy...but may I ask who you guys want to Captain the test series for India? It wont be Kholi because he needs to be a better player first and the condition he was in this series with Eng, making him the captain will make things from bad to worse for him.....Brining older players like Gambhir and Sehwag is also not in an option...because we saw how Gambhir failed to even make few runs in all the games he played in...I am sure same thing will happen to Sehwag if he is put in the same spot...India needs a captain like Dhoni but with better and new ideas for the team and team selection...and sadly...that will not happen soon...If kholi does well in the upcoming games and series against Aus then maybe he is the best choice then...but at the moment...Dhoni is the best person to lead the team in Series.....and ofcourse...he is fabulous in ODIs...so no need to change anything there..
Alex on August 19, 2014, 22:56 GMT
i can blame 8-0 test series on duncan fletcher. Not this series though. Why ? India bowling is not good at all. Except b. kumar , no one else useful. I will drop ishant sharma to varun arun to everyone. Also jadeja and rohit sharma forever. Bring in few 19-21 age cricketer who has so much enthusiasm to show off to the world their skills and abilities. One of main reason BCCI perform badly is that , they must have few 19 year old in the team. It gives more energy in the team and seniors more responsible infront of young people. When you group same age players team stuck in one mentality. Slack off.
Lisa on August 19, 2014, 22:55 GMT
dhawan gotta go , there are so many fringe players.work with them.. how did SL win..?
Dummy4 on August 19, 2014, 22:53 GMT
(contd) Outside the subcontinent: 2. We need to hone fast bowlers in the mould of Bhubaneshwar Kumar (Swing Bowlers). We have been under the illusion that pace is everything - and hence we have focussed on talentless bowlers like V.Aaron, U.Yadav and Pankaj who are never going to get wickets. In fact, this series turned when they took Pankaj and Aaron (who let Cook and Bell come back into form with their toothless bowling). Bhubaneshwar has no pace but he's accurate and can move the ball and hence troubles the batsmen everywhere. I would make Praveen Kumar the bowling coach (since he's the one who coached B. Kumar) and selector of fast bowlers who can be caught early and honed.
Hamish on August 19, 2014, 22:46 GMT
In 2011 Nasser Hussain wrote of Duncan Fletcher, "The first thing Duncan said to me when we came together as England captain and coach was that the captain was the man in charge, the spokesman, and that the coach should be the man dealing with the off-field issues." I don't think there's any doubt that Dhoni has been "the man in charge" in their working relationship, but I do wonder just exactly what Fletcher has been allowed to do.
Raghu on August 19, 2014, 22:09 GMT
It is good that Duncan Fletcher has been side lined & Ravi Shastri has been brought in. It is baffling to gauge the reasons for failure of this Indian team which did so well in the 1st. two Tests & then slumped in the next 3. There has to be a reason which perhaps Duncan Fletcher being a foreigner will not be able to know but the players would certainly open up to Ravi Shastri. Team spirit & 'sense of belonging' seems to have hit a very low bottom. In the past several of our stalwarts have saved us from ignominy. Classical example is Laxman's epic innings of 281 in Kolkata which converted a certain defeat to an incredible win. I would attribute two reason for the present state: (a) IPL has made our players forget defensive play and also the feeling that each player is a part of the Indian Team (b) Too high a remuneration irrespective of performance. If remuneration was linked with performance the players would try to improve. It is time for Dhoni to make way for a young leader.
rajendra on August 19, 2014, 22:05 GMT
My own view has always been that coaches should come from the home country.Especially seeing INDIA'S diverse cultural make up,where even an INDIAN coach would have to be widely experienced in the cultures that make up the GREAT INDIAN NATION.When you understand a country's culture,you will understand how and why that country's sportsmen and sportswomen play the way they do.One of the keys to the puzzle is to be able to create a HARMONIOUS ENVIRONMENT in INDIAN cricket team which can create a team that performs to it's TRUE POTENTIAL.I believe a home grown INDIAN COACH would be best suited for this job.To the C.V of THE INDIAN COACH you should add POSITIVE CRICKET EXPERIENCE in foreign lands.By that analysis,a former INDIAN test player with winning experiences both at home and abroad can be considered.The INDIAN coach should also be a GOOD MOTIVATOR of people without getting in their face!The coach should also be able to relate at all levels to the young indian cricket team!CHAKDEINDIA!
Dummy4 on August 19, 2014, 22:02 GMT
What a joke. Put the heat on the coach. How about the poor captaincy, poor seam bowling, terrible batting in seaming conditions and horrible spin bowling when the pitch isn't a rank turner. This has happened for 20 years. Clearly not the current coaches fault.
Dummy4 on August 19, 2014, 22:00 GMT
What about Dhoni ? The BCCI is missing the point. His wicketkeeping was shoddy, captaincy bewildering and overall leadership of low standard. Get a decent wicketkeeper batsman like Samson and change the leadership. It will be much more effective than firing the coach
Kuldeep on August 19, 2014, 21:43 GMT
Now get rid of Dhoni as a captain. Then some lazy players like Pujara, Dhawan and the list go on. It is not a knee jerk action as they have given plenty of opportunities, enough is enough.
Rajasundram on August 19, 2014, 21:36 GMT
I think, India has a number of Indian coaches. The Indian coaches will be able to communicate better with the players. Being Indian, they will also have a patriotic urge. By the time a player reaches Test Level, the job of the coach should be to got the i's. The groundwork must be done in schools and at age group level. We must use our icon players as specialist coaches. Think of the likes of Sachin, Rahul, Anil, Kapil Dev involved in coaching. Why do we need foreigners
Android on August 19, 2014, 21:36 GMT
Odi tteam under fletcher has been doing reasonably well. i am surprised and shocked that they didnt make this move before the test series started. now it doesn't make any sense to me at all!!
Dummy4 on August 19, 2014, 21:34 GMT
In this day and age, mass media and corporate sponsorships have changed the priorities of sports. Young athletes are driven by money or fear of corporate rejection. They do not value "the prestige of playing for country" more than these. Now, if failure in test cricket could be linked to losing sponsorships... aha! Then it would be game on.
anil on August 19, 2014, 21:25 GMT
His selection was a surprise. Any new comer with good record would have done better. Lal Chand Rajput took India to Oz and T20 WC and won them for us. Agreed it was MSD but not without some inspirational words. So I am expecting Bangar to do a good job. We all know Ravi is in it for administration. Donno what people are still honking about when Fletcher had a wretched run. I think we need to take a very good coach and an assistant coach. One foreign and one Indian. For bowling coaches, we really do not need outsiders. We need Zaheer and Venk Prasad. Fielding we need only consultant coaches. More than all we need inspirational speakers who can work on a consulting basis. Let us not blame IPL. IPL is the very reason why we could even survive that 40 overs. The only mistake BCCI every did was to have a 5 match series. It should have been a three match one.
Anura on August 19, 2014, 21:13 GMT
BCCI is absolutely spot on by bringing Ravi to head the cricket as he is one person who can improve the dressing room into a happy cohesive place where the players get up in the morning and want to be. Fletcher brings such a negative outlook with his gloomy, we are going to lose, no emotions face to the dressing room and it rubs down to the players and to the playing field. If ravi can bring his commentators box light hearted but to the point attitude to the dressing room you will see the transformation immediately. Look how Sri Lanka changed their attitudes and as Mahela kept on saying it is the DR enviorement that helped improved their performances. It has to come from the board as welland that is a big plus for Sri Lanka to have Jayantha Dharmadasa as the SLC president as I know what a player motivator he has been over the years as I have played for him for his company and what a happy bunch we were. Players need muchmore than their salaries as motivation factors Ravi will find them
ESPN on August 19, 2014, 21:11 GMT
Give a chance to indian senior (retired) players as a coach. Why are we going for others?
ESPN on August 19, 2014, 21:06 GMT
This had to be done. Fletcher's inability to inspire confodence in the plauers is a big red flag and this series is the evidence. Players like vijay,rahane,bhuvi etc. lost confidence midway. Time to shakeup things. Its time to have a Indian coach
Dummy4 on August 19, 2014, 20:57 GMT
@cricketmaan Rahane should move up to open with Vijay. India should also pick a young wrist spinner (there are plenty in India like Chahal, and that young left arm wrist spinner i can't remember the name of) and stick with him. They should also invest in a couple of young bowlers with genuine pace and stick with them. India should also make faster wickets and experiment with leaving more grass on their wickets to encourage fast bowlers at home. This is easily possible in most of modern India.Their top players (batsmen especially) should all have stints in the county championship to help learn to play in English conditions. Pujara playing a couple of games for Leicestershire isn't enough.
Dummy4 on August 19, 2014, 20:55 GMT
Why would Dhawan, Kohli, Rohit & Rahane suddenly succeed in the ODIs after failing so badly in the tests? The only thing that will happen is that the scores of 150s will look so much respectable.
The next time India visit England, they should play five T20s, two ODIs and two tests. That way they may win in every format.
Since India has so much say in the ICC, they should change a few things: Make all Indian players wear baseball gloves to catch the catches, make it mandatory to refer all lbw and caught-behind decisions to the third umpire.
Dummy4 on August 19, 2014, 20:44 GMT
Foreign Coaches? Who is responsibility for what happens on the pitch - the PLAYERS! Stop blaming the coaches. Shastri to "motivate"
Baskar on August 19, 2014, 20:39 GMT
Fletcher's record with India has been dismal overseas where it matters the most. The timing however is awkward but there is never a good time for such a move. We can go into the whys and hows but India cant get worse with a new crew. Lets see how the team responds. This rut is not just on the coaching staff, it likely runs deeper. The next step after this cleansing is to assess which players are ready for international cricket and which ones are not cut out for it as well as a candid assessment of Dhoni as captain and potential alternates.
Jagan on August 19, 2014, 20:29 GMT
The bottom line is that we do not have 11 competent cricketers on the field. A coach and a captain can be blamed for lack of tactical ideas or for a series defeat. To loose it in a manner like this is beyond any of that. Test match batting on seaming English wickets against such high quality swing/pace bowling from Anderson & Broad require batsmen with finest technique. If you look at how well the Englishmen bowled, many teams would have had a hard time. The Indian bunch showed they lacked the skills needed to battle it out. M Vijay showed supreme confidence getting in to the series. He too joined the rest as the series progressed. Now, a Sanju Samson or a Suresh Raina or a Manoj Tiwari wouldn't have done anything different than a Kohli or a Pujuara or a Gambhir did. We have to understand that we are only as good as we played. You want to hope that we get better and we don't face such good bowling during our next visit.
Steve on August 19, 2014, 20:25 GMT
If Fletcher is not going to make any cricketing decisions, why is he still with the team? Why wasn't he "rested" like the other two coaches? Is he going to learn the art of coaching from Shastri? BCCI should have let go all the coaches even if it meant paying them through their contract amount. They certainly are rich enough!
Aditya on August 19, 2014, 20:24 GMT
Not sure what is left for Duncan here. In the corporate world, it is a polite way to say please resign.
Dummy4 on August 19, 2014, 20:23 GMT
Time for MSD to step down from the Test captaincy but to carry on as a captain of 1 Day and 20/20 format of cricket and build up a new team for The World Cup, Fir Tests, Bring back V.Sehwag as a captain and also Bhajjias this team has proved that Test Cricket is not for kids
Suresh on August 19, 2014, 20:21 GMT
The biggest mistake was hiring Fletcher in first place a couple of years ago. No other team would have hired him witnessing what he had done to England. It's no surprise India didn't go anywhere him at the helm. I think it's BCCI's strategy to force Fletcher to resign. Neither this or 8-0 times he didn't do anything to alleviate the problems the team had. Hope they bring Gary Kirsten before the world cup to India.
ESPN on August 19, 2014, 20:18 GMT
Poor Shastri 's reputation is at risk. You can't win test matches without a good keeper who can rally the team from behind the team. How would you compare MSD with Clarke, Angelo, Brendon?
Javed on August 19, 2014, 20:16 GMT
@Faisal Ali - That's the way it should be. If you can't perform over the length of time, you're out. That's the way all the successful organizations run
Dik on August 19, 2014, 20:08 GMT
Yeah, it's definitely the coaches' fault, not the way you run your cricket BCCI. Let your players play abroad, in domestic league so they can get better. Likes of Sachin, Dravid, Ganguly did and that's how they got better. Why can't likes of Kohli, Dhwan, Rohit? Calm your egos down. Not coaches' fault, it's your ego,
TR on August 19, 2014, 20:04 GMT
I hope MSD is also under watch. I wish winners such as Krish Srikkanth, VVS, Kapil, Dravid, Kumble (and more) join the administration. Those are the people who brought victories for India.
Sriram on August 19, 2014, 19:57 GMT
What rubbish! Is it coz BCCI don't want to pay huge compensation to Feltcher if they sack him? Why not simply sack him if they intended to do that? MSD wont be sacked as several sponsors will withdraw or cut their spending! He is afterall golden boy of Indian cricket! If at all they want to make a change then get a local lad who played good amount of international cricket from Aus to help the bowlers take 20 wickets! I still think batters will do okay in Aus compared to their showing in Eng. What worries is who is next in line after Shikar?
Dummy4 on August 19, 2014, 19:51 GMT
I was surprised he was hired in the first place. Did India not see his record with England?
Dummy4 on August 19, 2014, 19:46 GMT
Fletcher has been totally ineffective as a coach since England's Ashes win in 2005. What's he done since then? Living on past glories. Totally ineffective. As an England fan I know what the Indians are going through. I was there when England lost 5-0 in Australia in 2006/7. In that series Fletcher totally went off the radar and was nowhere to be seen. As a coach Fletcher is a waste of space these days. Says nothing and appears to do nothing.
Will on August 19, 2014, 19:45 GMT
Beg the question, bend the truth. Bail out the basement when there's holes in the roof!
Dummy4 on August 19, 2014, 19:42 GMT
Before BCCI unceremoniously give "Break" to Fletcher, he should resign demanding full pay for the balance of his contract. It is indeed insulting for Fletcher to be put in Limbo. Very insulting.
Dummy4 on August 19, 2014, 19:36 GMT
If you loose you are out if you win you'll stay.. BCCI way of thinking.
Dummy4 on August 19, 2014, 19:31 GMT
Hey, after this bizarre loss, 3 things emerge - 1. The team simply was not good enough and the Lord's win was more an opposite team issue. Average bowlers, poor batters (Some in all forms, some in England), so only issue was the quantum of defeat, it was coming anyway. 2. Fletcher and co were bad choices for a long time. Way beyond shelf life, this result only showed it more glaringly. Glad something's done. 3. Same with Dhoni's test captaincy. But TINA (there is no alternative). But dont worry, Dhoni is going to give himself a break from this man-management, pussy footing this highly branded poor soldiers. Wont be surprised if he steps down as early as the WI series. In which case, the BCCI has to pluck someone from thin air - maybe it will be Ashwin
J on August 19, 2014, 19:30 GMT
The way the players were playing, their body language did not spell much confidence. It appeared as though they were out on the field hoping for the best but their body language indicated that they did not feel confident that they belonged at that level.
Many of the players have become millionaires with fairly ordinary skills thanks to the IPL. Their entire focus was on preparing to pay the shortest format of the game and they were ill equipped to handle the rigours of five day Test cricket.
The attitude and character required in Test cricket is of a far greater level than the shorter form of the game.
MSD is an instinctive player and leads by intuition rather than any great plan or strategy. When things go seriously wrong, the lack of intellectual ability renders him incapable of coming up with proper solutions and strategies.
The selection was improper - Binny being a classic case of a bits and pieces player being thrust into Test cricket. Jadeja was another misfit in England.
Dummy4 on August 19, 2014, 19:29 GMT
India has never been a great side outside India and this has been proven and will it remain the same way for next foreseeable future. What hurts most is the manner in which we have lost. We used to lose even with Sunny, Vishy, Mohinder etc. But the losses were bearable because these guys used to fight. This bunch is playing test cricket after learning 50 overs cricket and 20/20 and that's the problem. We should curtail both formats if India is ever going to becoming close to # 1 in test cricket.
Dummy4 on August 19, 2014, 19:20 GMT
Why sack the fielding coach as if it's his fault? Indian cricketers are know for being poor fielders. It's not the coach, it's the culture.
mk on August 19, 2014, 19:17 GMT
Are any Indians gonna take responsibility for any of this? No? No change there then.
muhammad on August 19, 2014, 19:16 GMT
Typical BCCI behaviour like a landlord kicking his workers out. All frustration will be diverted to Fletcher making him a scapegoat. What he could have done when batsmen had no capability to cope with the conditions. Pathetic.
Will Shastri be next after Australia tour....
Harshad on August 19, 2014, 19:10 GMT
It indeed is surprising that they have decided to go ahead and sideline Fletcher and put Shastri in charge of the team as Director. Now here is the main Problem and that ODI side is more than 50 % different players than who played the Test series so how is Shastri's performance going to help those non-peformers of the Test side, except Kohli who stays in the team and the rest of the players will be different. We know players like Raina are real team player and fighter unlike Kohli and who has always contributed. I dont think Dhoni has a mind to change and bring in new untested players, since he would be under double pressure if India were to lose the ODI series like last time. It would be prudent to leave out Kohli and play new players as then Anderson and co will have to change the plan completely, since they have sized up Kohli and who will definitely be in the Team and that will be one less batsman( Failed Favorite !) to contend with like during the Test Matches. Double Jeopardy.
Dummy4 on August 19, 2014, 19:09 GMT
Gotta love cricket, the coach is made the scapegoat when he isn't the one who plays on the field. Everyone knows that it is MSD who makes all the calls. But hey, the public has been asking for someone's head, and it was never going to be Dhoni's.
Lokesh on August 19, 2014, 19:07 GMT
finally a good step which they should've taken after 8-0 loss against Eng & Aus 2.5 yrs back - Fletcher himself didn't have a great cricketing career then how could he have taken a world champion team a step ahead or with the same winning momentum & attitude. Noticeably, Dhoni has also become a defensive captain since Kirsten's departure. His tactics don't yield good results now for over 3yrs now & that reflects in his IPL captaincy as well. Since world cup is nearly 6 months away, we immediately need a head coach who had good cricketing career thus a good cricketing brain - experience of having played in various conditions and a right balance of application & aggression. Knock the doors of Steven Waugh for head coach, Wasim Akram / Walsh for bowling coach & Rhodes/Collingwood for fielding coach.
Android on August 19, 2014, 19:05 GMT
This must have been done long ago....at least now some one woke up BCCI....
Dummy4 on August 19, 2014, 19:05 GMT
The Indian Team is great in India and the subcontinent. But what they have failed is to make a parallel plan for outside the subcontinent although it has been a constant embarrassment whenever they went out. The same management style and players will not work outside the subcontinent but we are bent on keeping the same set of players, the same captain and the same coaches. What is needed is a two prong approach - one for home and one for outside the subcontinent.
Outside the subcontinent: 1. We need to at least 2-3 batsmen who are rock solid in technique and basically blockers -- who can play out the first 20 overs of the new ball. This is because the first 20-30 overs are most critical when playing on fast-paced conditions. Currently, Murali Vijay is one who can play this role. But we are missing the 2 more. Pujara has shown promise as the second batsman but failed in this series - so he has to be watched. We need to hone one more technician.
san on August 19, 2014, 19:05 GMT
Any other country would have sacked both the captain and the coach long time ago. And some one should ask BCCI what they are doing from their end to address this. Stop gap arrangements like last minute batting coach Dravid or mid-seires Ravi will not help in the long term.
Dummy4 on August 19, 2014, 18:57 GMT
How much of help would this do is something to be seen.Agreed Fletcher has not given desired results but how much can a coach be held responsible for a team which has not shown any spirit to fight.These Millionare cricketers are interested in playing football having optional practice sessions and a sense of attitude as though they have conquered the world.These players are not kids who can be ear twisted when they do wrong If MSD uses Jaddu as defensive bowler and bowls a defensive line or under uses the 5th bowler not much a coach can do.Remember MSD is far superior and nobody can question his authority not even coach.We needed a scapegoat and Fletcher is being made one.If the talk is of a real shake up let me see action taken against MSD Kholi and all big games who were to set stage on fire
Android on August 19, 2014, 18:56 GMT
i really wann know, what are the achievements of Mr.Fletcher without that Champions Trophy after he took the charge of Indian team in 2011? Has he done any good for indian cricket?
Amrutur on August 19, 2014, 18:54 GMT
There is no need for this much nuance; for heaven's sake college teams in the US use more judgement and outright decision making. Fletcher needs to go and the new ODI coaching staff needs to be put in place for Australia and World Cup by adding Laxman into the mix. Dhoni is staying aloof and making his own team selections; the slip fielders don't even know where to stand. Someone needs to tell the boys that if they don't sharpen up, they will be thrown out of the team.
Android on August 19, 2014, 18:50 GMT
Thanks Mr. Fletcher and Good Bye...
vivian on August 19, 2014, 18:45 GMT
Why no try a person who played international cricket recently like Dravid/VVS or SRT ?
Chandrasekharan on August 19, 2014, 18:41 GMT
Very strange that the very questions asked of a very accountable Duncan Fletcher have not been asked of the rather unaccountable captain. He has not even been mentioned as one who could be responsible. Sacrificial goats all!!
No featured comments at the moment.
Chandrasekharan on August 19, 2014, 18:41 GMT
Very strange that the very questions asked of a very accountable Duncan Fletcher have not been asked of the rather unaccountable captain. He has not even been mentioned as one who could be responsible. Sacrificial goats all!!
vivian on August 19, 2014, 18:45 GMT
Why no try a person who played international cricket recently like Dravid/VVS or SRT ?
Android on August 19, 2014, 18:50 GMT
Thanks Mr. Fletcher and Good Bye...
Amrutur on August 19, 2014, 18:54 GMT
There is no need for this much nuance; for heaven's sake college teams in the US use more judgement and outright decision making. Fletcher needs to go and the new ODI coaching staff needs to be put in place for Australia and World Cup by adding Laxman into the mix. Dhoni is staying aloof and making his own team selections; the slip fielders don't even know where to stand. Someone needs to tell the boys that if they don't sharpen up, they will be thrown out of the team.
Android on August 19, 2014, 18:56 GMT
i really wann know, what are the achievements of Mr.Fletcher without that Champions Trophy after he took the charge of Indian team in 2011? Has he done any good for indian cricket?
Dummy4 on August 19, 2014, 18:57 GMT
How much of help would this do is something to be seen.Agreed Fletcher has not given desired results but how much can a coach be held responsible for a team which has not shown any spirit to fight.These Millionare cricketers are interested in playing football having optional practice sessions and a sense of attitude as though they have conquered the world.These players are not kids who can be ear twisted when they do wrong If MSD uses Jaddu as defensive bowler and bowls a defensive line or under uses the 5th bowler not much a coach can do.Remember MSD is far superior and nobody can question his authority not even coach.We needed a scapegoat and Fletcher is being made one.If the talk is of a real shake up let me see action taken against MSD Kholi and all big games who were to set stage on fire
san on August 19, 2014, 19:05 GMT
Any other country would have sacked both the captain and the coach long time ago. And some one should ask BCCI what they are doing from their end to address this. Stop gap arrangements like last minute batting coach Dravid or mid-seires Ravi will not help in the long term.
Dummy4 on August 19, 2014, 19:05 GMT
The Indian Team is great in India and the subcontinent. But what they have failed is to make a parallel plan for outside the subcontinent although it has been a constant embarrassment whenever they went out. The same management style and players will not work outside the subcontinent but we are bent on keeping the same set of players, the same captain and the same coaches. What is needed is a two prong approach - one for home and one for outside the subcontinent.
Outside the subcontinent: 1. We need to at least 2-3 batsmen who are rock solid in technique and basically blockers -- who can play out the first 20 overs of the new ball. This is because the first 20-30 overs are most critical when playing on fast-paced conditions. Currently, Murali Vijay is one who can play this role. But we are missing the 2 more. Pujara has shown promise as the second batsman but failed in this series - so he has to be watched. We need to hone one more technician.
Android on August 19, 2014, 19:05 GMT
This must have been done long ago....at least now some one woke up BCCI....
Lokesh on August 19, 2014, 19:07 GMT
finally a good step which they should've taken after 8-0 loss against Eng & Aus 2.5 yrs back - Fletcher himself didn't have a great cricketing career then how could he have taken a world champion team a step ahead or with the same winning momentum & attitude. Noticeably, Dhoni has also become a defensive captain since Kirsten's departure. His tactics don't yield good results now for over 3yrs now & that reflects in his IPL captaincy as well. Since world cup is nearly 6 months away, we immediately need a head coach who had good cricketing career thus a good cricketing brain - experience of having played in various conditions and a right balance of application & aggression. Knock the doors of Steven Waugh for head coach, Wasim Akram / Walsh for bowling coach & Rhodes/Collingwood for fielding coach.