Monday, May 7, 2007
Former England batsman Geoff Boycott believes India captain Rahul Dravid needs to be more assertive for the team to rediscover success.
"Rahul Dravid is a superb batsman, a lovely lad who nobody dislikes but he needs to stand up and take charge," Boycott said on Saturday. "He is not a born leader.
"A strong leader is a must. India's best period in recent years has been with a strong captain (Sourav) Ganguly and a nice man behind the scenes in John Wright.
"They complemented each other," Boycott wrote in Mumbai daily DNA on Saturday of the previous captain-coach combination when New Zealander Wright served as India's first foreign coach for almost five years.
The Indian board is looking for Greg Chappell's successor after the Australian resigned as coach following the team's first-round exit in the World Cup in the Caribbean.
"A coach can help with motivation, shaping a player's batting or bowling plus organisation, but in the end, the captain should be the guy pulling the strings."
Dravid was retained as skipper for the next three series, starting with the tour of Bangladesh which starts on Thursday, with former India captain Ravi Shastri appointed cricket manager.
"Finding another coach is not the panacea to building a great side. I don't think it matters whether a coach is from India or abroad. For me, too much is made of the role of the coach," Boycott said.
"India have just had a strong coach in Greg Chappell and a nice man in as captain (Dravid). It doesn't work as well."
"Rahul Dravid is a superb batsman, a lovely lad who nobody dislikes but he needs to stand up and take charge," Boycott said on Saturday. "He is not a born leader.
"A strong leader is a must. India's best period in recent years has been with a strong captain (Sourav) Ganguly and a nice man behind the scenes in John Wright.
"They complemented each other," Boycott wrote in Mumbai daily DNA on Saturday of the previous captain-coach combination when New Zealander Wright served as India's first foreign coach for almost five years.
The Indian board is looking for Greg Chappell's successor after the Australian resigned as coach following the team's first-round exit in the World Cup in the Caribbean.
"A coach can help with motivation, shaping a player's batting or bowling plus organisation, but in the end, the captain should be the guy pulling the strings."
Dravid was retained as skipper for the next three series, starting with the tour of Bangladesh which starts on Thursday, with former India captain Ravi Shastri appointed cricket manager.
"Finding another coach is not the panacea to building a great side. I don't think it matters whether a coach is from India or abroad. For me, too much is made of the role of the coach," Boycott said.
"India have just had a strong coach in Greg Chappell and a nice man in as captain (Dravid). It doesn't work as well."
Labels: Geoffrey Boycott, Rahul Dravid
posted by Subhadeep at 4:59 AM | 
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