During his first press conference following his retirement Sachin was asked an interesting question regarding who he thought was better suited to coach the Indian team – a foreigner or an Indian. In his inimitable manner Sachin had replied that the nationality of the coach was not an issue as long as he was performing the job well. So, one suggestion in this regard would be that once Duncan Fletcher’s contract comes to an end the BCCI can think of handing over the reins of the team to Tendulkar. Let us now try and analyze what difference Sachin can make as a coach of India.
Factors working in favor of Tendulkar:
Immense experience: Having played international cricket with a lot of success for 24 years there is no one who is more experienced than Sachin. He is acquainted with every facet of the game and will be able to guide players on various aspects like preparation, mental readiness and how to switch on and off during the various phases of games. He will also be able to guide them as to how they can accept success and failure and still keep learning every single day in their careers as well as adapt to different conditions.
Technique: Sachin Tendulkar is technically one of the most accomplished players for India. When it comes to batting he can guide players regarding how they can pace their innings, rotate the strike at various times in innings, how to build their innings, how to play various bowlers at different times and how to read a bowler’s psychology as well as understand the delivery he may bowl by studying his wrist position. Similarly in case of bowlers he has the knowledge to correct technical problems and also help them study a batsman from his stance and understand his psychology at various phases of a game.
Recent retirement: Tendulkar has retired recently and if he agrees to take on the reins of the team after the 2015 World Cup he should be in a good position to take the team to the next level, having played with all of them. Also having enjoyed a 2 year break from the game he may be fresh and raring to go.
Factors working against Tendulkar
Family commitments: He said in his retirement speech very clearly that he was going to dedicate the rest of his life to his family, especially his children and it is hard to imagine a man of his stature going back on his word. It will be realistic to expect him in this role once his children have grown up and found their feet in life.
Do great cricketers make great coaches: There was once a saying that great players always do not make great coaches and the failure of Glenn Turner, Greg Chappell and Kapil Dev proved that idiom to be correct. However, in recent times former international players such as Craig McDermott, Andy Flower, Venkatesh Prasad, Robin Singh, Darren Lehmann, Stuart Law, Jason Gillespie, Justin Langer, John Wright, Stephen Fleming, Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram, Aqib Javed, Gary Kirsten, Allan Donald, Shaun Pollock, Jonty Rohoes, Lance Klusener, Paul Adams, Chaminda Vaas, Phil Simmons, Grant Flower, Paul Strang, Dave Houghton and Heath Streak have had stints with international and provincial teams. So it would be hard to think that Sachin too will not fit the bill.
However, the problem is that none of these cricketers have had really long stints and Andy Flower has had to take a break from England’s one day team to be able to spend some time with his family. So family is a major factor in case of coaches as well.
Fatigue factor: Cricket is Sachin’s life without a shadow of doubt but he has played this game nonstop for the last 24 years and there may have been some fatigue that has crept in and that is what may have contributed to his retirement too. He needs to be given some time to go back, relax and as and when he is willing to step into the cauldron again, he should be welcomed back.
Realistically speaking, in the foreseeable future Sachin will not want any coaching job other than that of the Mumbai Indians in the IPL. Even if the team qualified for the CLT20 every year it would take up only 3-4 months in his life. Regarding, whether he will be able to make a difference to the Indian team or not, he will be a positive influence on the team, without a shadow of doubt.
Read More about Sachin Tendulkar:
Sachin Tendulkar Biography
Playing It My Way Book Review: Sachin Tendulkar’s Autobiography
Top 10 Batsmen in the World of Cricket
Sachin Tendulkar: One of a kind
Who can break Sachin’s record?
Sachin Tendulkar and nervous 90s: just bad luck or more?
Was Sachin a Selfish Player?
Is Sachin an excuse for the BCCI?
The other side of Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar against spin bowling
Sachin Tendulkar against fast bowling
Sachin Tendulkar’s Cricketing Journey
Unforgettable Moments of Sachin’s career
Sachin as the next coach of India
Sachin Tendulkar Records
Childhood of Sachin Tendulkar
Journey of Sachin Tendulkar
