India's coach...

Well Dav Whatmore will be India's new coach...you heard it here first. Not certain I'll be proved right, but we'll see. It's interesting to see how people react when a foreigner is appointed, or even considered, to coach a national team. Take for example, Sven Goran-Erikkson as manager of England's football team - a few loved him, many hated him. India have had 2 foreign cricket coaches prior to the appointment of the next coach and it appears that there is some pro-Indian coach lobbying going on. Sunil Gavaskar has not been very subtle in criticising Dav Whatmore as part of the Bangladesh back-room team that India thrashed comprehensively recently...but why would anyone would listen to him? A great player but very temperamental - how else can we explain him playing for a draw in a one day game and trying to take his batting partner off the pitch with him when he didn't agree with an LBW decision? So his opinion should be listened to...and then ignored. But Kapil Dev? He normally talks sense but he's weighed in arguing the next coach should be Indian too...

There are 7 cricketing nations that have a rich history - India, Pakistan, Australia, England, New Zealand, West Indies, South Africa - if you subscribe to the theory that coaches should have played top-class cricket, which I don't. On top of that you have nations like Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka, who can produce top coaches - eg. Duncan Fletcher. So at best there should be a less than 15% chance of the next coach of India being an Indian....there are lots of other options in today's global employment market. If the best candidate turns out to be Indian then of course that's great, but to close your eyes to other options would be extremely foolhardy.