The former president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Raj Singh Dungarpur, who is in the panel to select the next coach for India, has come out strongly in support of a foreign coach. Supporting the BCCI's move, Dungarpur said "The other major advantage which John Wright and Greg Chappell (the two candidates in the running for the post of India's cricket coach) have is that they have been involved in coaching in the past. Australian Dav Whatmore is coaching Sri Lanka, England's Bob Woolmer had done so well for South Africa till recently and England, which has produced so many outstanding players, has Zimbabwe's Duncan Fletcher as coach."

Dungarpur was earlier quoted in the Gulf News as saying that Indian coaches were biased. The former BCCI president however later denied this. He said "I never used the word bias when the Gulf News reporter contacted me over the phone. You reporters used to contact me on several occasions during my tenure as Board President. Have I ever used the word bias?" he asked.

Clarifying his stand, the Chairman of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) said "All I told the reporter was that all of us in the Board, including me, are affiliated to the state associations or units and one of the biggest advantages a foreign coach will have is that he is not connected with any association or unit."

In the interview, Dungarpur was quoted to have said "Indian coaches could be biased. Most of the former Test cricketers represent various associations and chances are they could be biased towards certain players. This factor can be eliminated when we have a foreign coach," quotes PTI. Talking on the advantages of hiring a foreign coach, Dungarpur said that "former cricketers of other countries undergo intensive training before becoming coaches. In India, they do not go for any advanced training."

On the two shortlisted candidates, Dungarpur said "The two coaches (Greg Chappell and John Wright) are highly qualified and were very talented players too. Their services will immensely help Indian cricket." Apart from Dungarpur, the others who are in the panel to interview Wright and Chappell are BCCI president AC Muthiah, BCCI secretary Jaywant Lele and NCA director Hanumant Singh. They meet the two candidates in Chennai on October 23.

Praising Anshuman Gaekwad, Dungarpur said "I would like to pay a compliment to Gaekwad who was gracious enough to accept the job (on a short-term basis). He had done a wonderful job when he was coach for two years." He added "Shortly, the Board will find a place for him (Gaekwad) where he will play a constructive role with his deep knowledge of the game."

Meanwhile, Gaekwad when asked about Dungarpur's outburst, refused to comment. Gaekwad said he was not sure whether Dungarpur had called Indian coaches biased. "I am not sure but if he has said it, I would like to find out more," said Gaekwad.

When asked for his reaction, Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly was guarded in his reply. Ganguly said "Sometimes, they have their opinion. We have our own. It is very human. You have your viewpoint and we could have ours, but as long as we are trying to pick the best side for the country, there should not be any problem," he said. Interestingly enough, only a few days ago, Gaekwad said he was not in favour of a foreign coach.

Going by recent developments, it seems that the issue of foreign coach has become that of a national obsession. The reasons cited by the former board chief may be true to some extent. In some cases the coaches have been accused of having a regional bias. But to speak out in harsh terms about Indian coaches in general is something not expected from a former BCCI president. Moreover, his remarks raise some questions which need to be answered by the BCCI. Will the foreign coach be given a say in the selection of the team? What will be the coach's strategy if the captain or vice captain insist on the inclusion of certain player(s)? Will that not lead to confrontation between the captain and the coach.

Under the circumstances, it will be better to spell out the responsibilities of the coach in detail and this needs to be drafted in the agreement. For there is a risk of personality clashes if the role is not spelled out clearly.

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