'It would be an honour to help Indian cricket along with Ravi Shastri,' says Dilip Vengsarkar
Mumbai: When Team India was drubbed by England in their own backyard in 2011, the excuse was the presence of seniors past their prime. In 2014, captain MS Dhoni said there were many youngsters on the tour.
While Dhoni’s army prepares choosing the in-betweens for the rendezvous with West Indies starting in October, former India wicketkeeper Farokh Engineer called for coach Duncan Fletcher’s court martial and suggested the name of veteran batsman Dilip Vengsarkar (also nicknamed Colonel) to lead the charge with Ravi Shastri who recently served as Team Director.
Is Vengsarkar ready for the profile? “It will be a great honour to be back to the dressing room with Ravi,” is what he says.
It can be said that Engineer recalled Vengsarkar’s exploits in India’s tour of England in 1986 and came to the conclusion that he might be BCCI’s answer to the SOS calls.
Why would he not? The attacking batsman from Mumbai single-handedly guided India to a rare series win.
“I have enjoyed being a part of the Indian team as a player and also as the chairman of Talent Resource Development Wing (an initiative of the Board of Control for Cricket in India to spot local talent) and selection committee. Because Indian cricket made me what I am today,” says the 58-year-old, who was a member of the World Cup winning team in 1983.
“To be honest with you, I don’t know Duncan Fletcher at all. I have not even met him. But if you see his performance as a coach, he is extremely poor in Test cricket. We have not only lost, we have been thrashed in the recent past. From the number one position, we have gone down to number five,” adds Vengsarkar who was awarded the man-of-the-series for his efforts in the 1986 tour.
He stated a major drawback that comes along with a foreign coach. “A foreign coach is not aware of the emerging players from the domestic circuit. He only knows the players he has in the team whereas India has many talented youngsters from the first-class circuit. Having an Indian coach will be an advantage. Ravi and others would know all the players well and can work accordingly,” says Vengsarkar.
However, it remains to be seen whether the combination of an elegant drive and chapati shot (a trademark Shastri flick off the pads) actually unite to hoodwink the ghosts tickling India’s past glories.
