India appoints Duncan Fletcher coach of the national team
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has appointed former England coach and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Duncan-c54739 Fletcher, as head coach of the World Champions, who had to seek a new man at the helm of their team after the departure of
former South African batsman, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Gary-Kirsten-c58527.
The South African decided to quit coaching India’s team citing family reasons after he took the team to the World Cup title in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mumbai-c820 early in the month.
The new appointment would trigger another exciting phase in Indian cricket on the back of their impressive recent record, which has seen them reach the top in both Test and One Day International (ODI) formats.
The Vice President of the governing body of the game in India stated that the name of Fletcher was being mulled over for a considerable time and eventually it was decided that he was the best man for the job and has the vision and ability
to take the team forward as they bid to cement their spot at the top of the Test and ODI formats.
He added that Fletcher’s appointment was a step in the right direction. He added that Kristen has done a stellar job with the Indian team and hopefully the former England coach would be able to carry on in the same vein ahead of a hectic
schedule for the world champions.
"After a lot of thought and consultation, the BCCI president and BCCI secretary placed Fletcher's name before the Working Committee, which the Committee ratified", said Rajiv Shukla, the BCCI vice-president.
Shukla revealed that the terms and conditions of Fletcher's appointment would be the same, as the one under which Kirsten was working.
The 62-year old Fletcher has an impressive resume especially as coach in different capacities, he was in charge of the England team, which won the Ashes for the first time since 1986-'87, the win came in the epic series of 2005 where the
hosts won 2-1 after losing the opening match of the series at Lords.
England were clearly underdogs in the series yet they were able to get past the Aussies in four gripping Test matches that followed, many cricketing pundits think that the series was the best ever in Test history.
Another impressive statistic on his resume is the wins in Test series in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758. He was the first foreign coach to head the English team.
On the other hand, the Zimbabwean failed to replicate his performance in the limited overs format of the game, and the English team’s performance was woeful in many international tournaments.
Fletcher was unable to revive England's ODI form and the poor run coincided with a 0-5 Ashes drubbing for the POMS away from home in 2006-'07.
Their campaign in the biggest limited overs tournament, the 2007 World Cup, was extremely disappointing for England and at the end of it he left the job. Since then he has had small stints with some international teams, yet the stint with
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 would be his first major assignment since the England job.
Fletcher has many supporters, former South African captain and Cricket chief, Ali Bacher, says Fletcher’s style of coaching draws a lot from his playing days.
Bacher stated “Fletcher was hard-working, disciplined, very professionally driven and played to his utmost potential even if he was not blessed with extraordinary talent. He brings the same characteristics to his coaching".
The challenge for Fletcher would be to help India stay at the top of the world in both formats of the game. The batting at his disposal is easily the best in the world, however, India’s bowling needs to be worked on in tougher assignments
such as the tour of England this summer.
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