Duncan Fletcher

Former England coach Duncan Fletcher was appointed as the new coach of the Indian cricket team after Gary Kirsten stepped down from the role citing family and personal reasons. As Gary Kirsten had led the team to Test Number One status and the World Cup win, the most awaited decision, the appointment of coach, came yesterday.

Also Read: Duncan Fletcher – The New Indian!

Fletcher is a former Zimbabwean all-rounder who worked with Team England for over 7 years. He was instrumental in making England win the Ashes in the home series of 2005. He took England to the third spot in test rankings. England also registered its first win in West Indies in 36 years under Fletcher. It is to be noted that Fletcher, who captained Zimbabwe during the 1983 World Cup and has played just six one-dayers.

Former England Captain Michael Vaughan welcomed the appointment of Duncan Fletcher for a two year deal and added that he will work well with Dhoni. He also felt that Fletcher’s biggest challenge will be to cope with the media as he has never really understood how it works.

India’s former World Cup winning captain Kapil Dev has questioned the appointment of Duncan Fletcher as the Indian team’s coach over the likes of Venkatesh Prasad and Robin Singh. He criticized the BCCI for overlooking their contributions during the T20 World Cup 2007.

Venkatesh Prasad and Robin Singh were appointed bowling and fielding coach, respectively, after the 2007 ODI World Cup. However, they were sacked in October 2009 by the BCCI without any explanation as to why their services were being terminated.

Kapil also added that he was unable to recall Fletcher as a player though he had played against him in the 1983 World Cup. He had smashed a memorable 175 not out against Zimbabwe in the same World Cup.

Meanwhile India’s bowling Coach Eric Simmons said he was eager to work under Duncan Fletcher. He said that he has never really worked and was confident that he will be bringing in a lot of fresh ideas like he did to Team England and that he is looking forward to those.

Fletcher may not be a part of the team for the West Indies tour, as he has some prior commitments, said BCCI secretary N Srinivasan.

Tags: BCCI, Coach, Duncan Fletcher, Indian Cricket, Kapil Dev, N Srinivasan, Robin Singh, Venkatesh Prasad