When in doubt, turn south
by Suresh Menon
Need a non-specialist to keep wicket in one-dayers? Get Rahul Dravid. Brian Lara beginning to look dangerous at the crease? Hey isn’t that the guy with the fractured jaw bowling to him? Where did Anil Kumble appear from? Is that a new record: the first man to dismiss Lara bowling with a broken jaw?
Go back further. Viv Richards, playing his first Test in Bangalore. Like Bhagwat Chandrasekhar’s deliveries, he doesn’t know whether he is coming or going. Richards then makes only four and three, out both innings to Chandra.
Yet, guess who is dropped for the next Test (after taking six wickets in Bangalore)? Chandra sits out to accommodate Venkatraghavan who is captain following injuries to Tiger Pataudi and Sunil Gavaskar. Thank you, says Richards, that was a thoughtful gesture, and proceeds to make an unbeaten 192. The West Indies win by an innings.
And now it is happening all over again.
We have taken three openers to Australia, and yet the cry goes around – Rahul Dravid for opener so Yuvraj Singh can play. In other words, sacrifice your best batsman to avoid the backlash should the popular Yuvraj be dropped.
There is an old joke about a man asked who he would rescue if he saw both his wife and his girlfriend drowning. “My girlfriend,” he says, “Because my wife would understand.” Indian cricket plays around with Dravid for the same reason - because he will understand.
The key to understanding Dravid is a statement he made many years ago: “When I was a little boy, all I wanted to do was play for India. Now that I am playing for India, I am constantly amazed that I am being paid to do so.”
Such an attitude has meant that rather than being The Wall (a grossly inappropriate nickname), he has actually become the yo-yo of Indian cricket - sent up and down the batting order with little thought. He has opened, kept wicket, and, over the years, displayed such an intensity for the game that he appears ready to paint the stadium, water the outfield, prepare the pitch, handle the car park - anything to remain married to cricket (because his wife will understand).
He has said from Australia that he is happy to open if that is what the country needs. But the country is mistaken if that is what it thinks it needs. For Dravid is one of the best-ever batsmen at No 3 and that’s where he is most effective.
Unfortunately for him, just under two years ago, in the last series in which he opened, he put on 410 with Virender Sehwag, just three short of the Mankad-Roy record of 50 years. And now he has to open again, presumably to protect Sehwag who has been specifically chosen for the job. If the selectors got themselves into a mess by not picking the right openers or the Board showed an uncaring attitude by agreeing to play just one first class match to acclimatize, why sacrifice Dravid?
In sport, there are two choices. You can be selfish, and hope that it helps the team, or selfless and pray that it doesn’t work against you. Let us hope Dravid doesn’t pay the price for his selflessness.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Boje denies link to 2000 match-fixing scam
South African bowler Nicky Boje on Tuesday denied charges of match-fixing under questioning by Indian police probing the scandal which hit cricket seven years ago, officials said.
The 34-year-old, who was escorted to a New Delhi interrogation centre by South African diplomats, was grilled for nearly two hours by Crime Branch detectives who are investigating the scandal, they said.
 South African bowler Nicky Boje leaves after being questioned by Indian Crime Branch officials in New Delhi, 11 December 2007. Boje on Tuesday denied charges of match-fixing under questioning by Indian police probing the scandal which hit cricket seven years ago. ©AFP |
"He denied his role in the match-fixing scandal and so questions on all relevant aspects of the case were asked," Police spokesman Rajan Bhagat told AFP.
Bhagat however said the left-armed spinner, "cooperated nicely" after coming voluntarily from the northern Indian city of Panchkula, where he is playing in the rebel Indian Cricket League until Sunday.
Boje was quizzed in connection with the match-fixing scandal involving then skipper Hansie Cronje and three of his teammates during South Africa's tour of India in 2000.
Crime Branch chief Satyandra Garg said the player, who retired from international cricket last year, was extensively questioned.
"We have interrogated him on all aspects of the case," Garg said in a statement after a visibly-relieved Boje was allowed to return to Panchkula.
"Whatever questions we wanted to ask him, we have done that and we will now conduct further enquiries," he added as others said Boje was also asked about his links with a South African bookie and if he held a bank account in London.
The police had issued a summons Wednesday, ordering Boje to "assist" detectives in the ongoing probe.
Cronje, who died in an aircrash in 2002, was banned for life over the scandal.
Crime Branch officers said they had presented a written questionnaire to Boje.
"He was asked to corroborate various things things told to us by (South Africa's Herschelle) Gibbs when we interrogated him last year," a police officer who declined to be named told AFP.
Boje had previously skipped two tours of India after failing to obtain assurances that he would not be detained by police.
Boje and batsman Gibbs were found guilty of being part of the skipper Cronje's conspiracy in a public inquiry in South Africa.
They were heavily fined and banned for six months after Indian police exposed the racket.
Boje, Gibbs and Cronje are listed as the key suspects in India, where police registered a criminal case in May 14, 2000.
Gibbs was questioned by detectives when he flew to India for the Champions Trophy last year and admitted accepting money from Cronje to score fewer than 20 runs against India in a one-day match during the 2000 March-April tour. He named three teammates as co-conspirators.
Delhi police say they recorded Cronje's telephone conversations with bookies in India in which he struck deals to throw one-day matches.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Vengsarkar relents after Pawar intervenes
Chairman of Selection Committee Dilip Vengsarkar is going to Bangalore to select the team for Australia tour just a day after it seemed that he had made up his mind to quit.
"I just spoke to Mr Pawar. He has assured me that we will have a meeting on 7 or 8 (December) either on Mumbai or in Pune and he will sort out all the issues," Dilip Vengsarkar said on Tuesday evening.
"Kal mein ja raha hoon because he has assured me everything will be taken care of (I am going tomorrow because he (Pawar) has assured me everything will be taken care of," Vengsarkar said.
After a day of high drama and intrigue the storm finally blew over or so it seems. Vengsarkar will chair the meeting to select India's Test squad to Australia and clearly the words of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Sharad Pawar have comforted him.
"Board is meeting on 16th of this month. Probably we will be able to take up a final view on all this and I feel we will be able to resolve this issue," Sharad Pawar had said on Tuesday.
So are the warring parties coming together and what happens to the angry e-mail sent by Vengsarkar to Sharad Pawar where he said, "I am appalled at the way the BCCI has treated its selectors. The recent gag order has not only humiliated us for doing selfless service to Indian cricket but also shown us in a very poor light."
"Another issue is that BCCI secretary, Mr Niranjan Shah even after finalising dates for selection of teams, changes them as per his whims and fancies The recent fiasco of shifting the selection committee meeting from Kolkata to Bangalore on 5th December shows his high-handedness. I was aghast when Mr Shashank Monahar told me over the telephone yesterday that Mr Bindra is the man behind all these happenings against the selectors," Vengsarkar wrote.
"I would be glad to continue as the Chairman of Selection Committee but ONLY IF the restrictions imposed on me are revoked unconditionally and I am compensated for agreeing to not to write the columns in the newspapers," he wrote.
But after days of hard bargaining and tough negotiations, the deadlock seems to have been broken. All it took was an assurance from BCCI chief Sharad Pawar to soften Vengsarkar who gave up on his demand of revoking the seven-point guideline and head to Bangalore for the selection meeting.
"I just spoke to Mr Pawar. He has assured me that we will have a meeting on 7 or 8 (December) either on Mumbai or in Pune and he will sort out all the issues," Dilip Vengsarkar said on Tuesday evening.
"Kal mein ja raha hoon because he has assured me everything will be taken care of (I am going tomorrow because he (Pawar) has assured me everything will be taken care of," Vengsarkar said.
After a day of high drama and intrigue the storm finally blew over or so it seems. Vengsarkar will chair the meeting to select India's Test squad to Australia and clearly the words of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Sharad Pawar have comforted him.
"Board is meeting on 16th of this month. Probably we will be able to take up a final view on all this and I feel we will be able to resolve this issue," Sharad Pawar had said on Tuesday.
So are the warring parties coming together and what happens to the angry e-mail sent by Vengsarkar to Sharad Pawar where he said, "I am appalled at the way the BCCI has treated its selectors. The recent gag order has not only humiliated us for doing selfless service to Indian cricket but also shown us in a very poor light."
"Another issue is that BCCI secretary, Mr Niranjan Shah even after finalising dates for selection of teams, changes them as per his whims and fancies The recent fiasco of shifting the selection committee meeting from Kolkata to Bangalore on 5th December shows his high-handedness. I was aghast when Mr Shashank Monahar told me over the telephone yesterday that Mr Bindra is the man behind all these happenings against the selectors," Vengsarkar wrote.
"I would be glad to continue as the Chairman of Selection Committee but ONLY IF the restrictions imposed on me are revoked unconditionally and I am compensated for agreeing to not to write the columns in the newspapers," he wrote.
But after days of hard bargaining and tough negotiations, the deadlock seems to have been broken. All it took was an assurance from BCCI chief Sharad Pawar to soften Vengsarkar who gave up on his demand of revoking the seven-point guideline and head to Bangalore for the selection meeting.
Kirsten signs deal to coach India
Former South Africa batsman to join team in Australia
December 4, 2007
Gary Kirsten has signed a two-year deal to coach the Indian national team. He will start work on March 1, 2008, almost a year after his predecessor, Greg Chappell, resigned from the post.
Kirsten signed the contract after clarifying a few last-minute details pertaining to his young family and also to the feelings of senior players in the team who had been anonymously quoted as saying that the appointment of a coach was "unnecessary."
Sharad Pawar, the Indian board president, told Kirsten on Tuesday afternoon that all the senior players were looking forward to having him on board and agreed with Kirsten's suggestion that he meets up with the team before they depart for Australia.
"I will go back to India soon to meet up with the squad before they fly to Australia on December 17 and then I will join them again in a transition phase for the third and fourth Tests against Australia in the New Year," Kirsten said.
"It is a huge honour and I'm looking forward to the challenge with as much enthusiasm as any challenge I've ever faced. I'm not naive - I know how big the job is and I know it won't be easy, but it's also something I really want to do, and do well," Kirsten said.
When Kirsten takes over full-time, his first assignment will be a three-Test series against South Africa. "That's exciting. I really don't think it will feel strange or odd. I will be doing everything I can to help India win. But Australia comes first and everybody's energy must be focussed on producing success on what is the hardest tour in cricket," Kirsten said.
December 4, 2007
Gary Kirsten has signed a two-year deal to coach the Indian national team. He will start work on March 1, 2008, almost a year after his predecessor, Greg Chappell, resigned from the post.
Kirsten signed the contract after clarifying a few last-minute details pertaining to his young family and also to the feelings of senior players in the team who had been anonymously quoted as saying that the appointment of a coach was "unnecessary."
Sharad Pawar, the Indian board president, told Kirsten on Tuesday afternoon that all the senior players were looking forward to having him on board and agreed with Kirsten's suggestion that he meets up with the team before they depart for Australia.
"I will go back to India soon to meet up with the squad before they fly to Australia on December 17 and then I will join them again in a transition phase for the third and fourth Tests against Australia in the New Year," Kirsten said.
"It is a huge honour and I'm looking forward to the challenge with as much enthusiasm as any challenge I've ever faced. I'm not naive - I know how big the job is and I know it won't be easy, but it's also something I really want to do, and do well," Kirsten said.
When Kirsten takes over full-time, his first assignment will be a three-Test series against South Africa. "That's exciting. I really don't think it will feel strange or odd. I will be doing everything I can to help India win. But Australia comes first and everybody's energy must be focussed on producing success on what is the hardest tour in cricket," Kirsten said.
Saturday, December 1, 2007
The ICL as a viable option
Light at the end of the tunnel
November 30, 2007
About 15 years ago Kiran Powar was a bigger name in Mumbai cricket than his brother Ramesh. A left-hand batsman with a wide array of strokes, Kiran struggled to break into a powerful Mumbai batting order and switched allegiance to other states. He spent a number of seasons in Assam and Goa, during which time he made many long journeys by bus, and often, considering hotels were too much of a luxury, even spent nights in one. Frequently, with reimbursement hard to come by, he paid his own travel expenses. He even wasn't compensated when he was hospitalised once.
Today Powar enjoys the comfort of the Taj hotel in Chandigarh. He shares the same dressing room as Brian Lara and Nathan Astle. When I speak to him, he's having lunch with Vikram Solanki, Johan van der Wath and Danny Redrup, a South African physio who is "showing me the sort of fitness a cricketer needs". For the first time in Powar's life he has a sense of security. "Tell me one reason why I shouldn't join the ICL" he challenges.
Powar's isn't an isolated case. The general mood among the Indian domestic players who have joined the ICL is one of disgruntlement. "Until today none of us had an option," says a player who was picked for India a couple of years ago. "Now we have someone to take care of us. Wait for some time and players will just rush in."
The BCCI's apathy is a sore point. A domestic veteran talks about a prominent state association. "They made a big din about introducing central contracts for players," he says. "Finally, we said, we've got some security. And they give us an annual contract of Rs 25,000 [US$ 500 approximately]. Is that any sort of money for a year?"
Even more frustrating has been the handling of injuries. Shalabh Srivatsava, an Under-19 star who went on to do well consistently for Uttar Pradesh, travelled to South Africa for an expensive surgery. He is still waiting to be reimbursed. Rakesh Patel, the Baroda fast bowler who was selected for the Indian one-day side recently, underwent a similar fate. "The biggest problem is we can't play when we're injured," says Powar. "It means no reimbursement and no match fees. How do you survive?"
Redrup chips in: "This is exactly how rugby used to be conducted in South Africa during the amateur days. But things changed with professionalism."
The situation with the coaching staff who have signed up with the ICL isn't too different. Erapalli Prasanna, the former India offspinner, who was with the BCCI's ill-fated spin wing had had enough of being ignored. "By sending me to Nagpur and to Kolkata for short periods, the NCA [National Cricket Academy] sent a clear message that I was not required. The other signal I got was that the BCCI wanted to get rid of me. The spin wing is finished."
Sandeep Patil, who is currently coaching the Mumbai Champs, echoes those views. ""I waited for the BCCI to give me a suitable job to serve Indian cricket. Twice I had written to the BCCI president, Sharad Pawar, expressing my interest to be a coach of the India A side. I was assured a two-year contract, but after waiting for almost one and a half years, nothing came of it."
Hurdles, hurdles, hurdles
It's not been easy for these players and coaches who have signed with the ICL. They are derisively referred to as "money whores".
Reetinder Singh Sodhi, the former India allrounder, speaks about being refused entry into a ground in Patiala. "Imagine the scene," he says. "You've gone to a ground to practise almost every day of your life. And one day they stop you. As if I'm a criminal or something. I'm still playing cricket only, no?"
Bengal's players faced a similar situation at the Calcutta Cricket and Football Club, though the Essel Group, which runs the ICL, had a corporate membership at the club. JP Yadav and Mohnish Mishra, two Madhya Pradesh players, were forced to withdraw from a club tournament in Bhopal for a similar reason.
Three Hyderabad players with jobs in state banks were apparently transferred to Kolkata recently. They've to now choose between moving to a new city and losing their jobs.
All ICL players have been banned from playing in corporate tournaments organised by the BCCI. Those who have jobs have had their terms of employment made more stringent. Madhya Pradesh batsman Abbas Ali, who works with Indian Oil, is required to work from 9am to 5pm every day and struggles to find time for practice.
It is the youngsters who are hardest hit. "A young cricketer finds a job by telling his employees that he's a cricketer," says JP Yadav, the former India allrounder. "Now, since he can't play corporate tournaments, how is a company going to give him a job? That's a big worry."
Another implication is that cricketers may have to give up the option of playing league cricket in England - since that requires a minimum qualification of four first-class games in a season.
Positives galore
Despite the ostracism the players remain upbeat. When JP Yadav walked into the Tau Devi Lal Stadium in Panchkula, his first reaction was simple: "It's fine, yaar. You're talking to someone who's played cricket all his life at the Karnail Singh Stadium." That, incidentally, is the headquarters of the Indian Railways side, a first-class ground that's universally regarded as India's worst in terms of facilities.
The players have been given 12 pairs each of coloured uniforms. They've been exposed to physios and trainers streets ahead of the ones they've been used to in Indian first-class cricket. They've received 25% of the yearly payment promised them (as the base price), and are happy to see sums being deposited every month in Axis Bank accounts that have been opened for them.
Some foreign players have been impressed with the local talent and have spoken about recommending them to counties and provinces. "Abhishek Jhunjunwala has been noticed," says a senior player with the Bengal Tigers. "He was even asked if he would want to qualify to play for England."
The ICL, for all the talk of being the poor cousin to the Indian board's Indian Premier League, is still an option that a number of Indian domestic players are seriously considering. As recently as September, a couple of players on the fringes were apparently seriously contemplating joining. Both made their India debuts subsequently and shelved the plan.
A number of other players, though, are still in the loop. "I've got a call from so many domestic cricketers asking, 'What's happening, are they recruiting?" says Yadav. "People are definitely interested. It's just a matter of taking the leap." Like several others, he is convinced that the next 15 days will only reinforce their faith.
November 30, 2007
About 15 years ago Kiran Powar was a bigger name in Mumbai cricket than his brother Ramesh. A left-hand batsman with a wide array of strokes, Kiran struggled to break into a powerful Mumbai batting order and switched allegiance to other states. He spent a number of seasons in Assam and Goa, during which time he made many long journeys by bus, and often, considering hotels were too much of a luxury, even spent nights in one. Frequently, with reimbursement hard to come by, he paid his own travel expenses. He even wasn't compensated when he was hospitalised once.
Today Powar enjoys the comfort of the Taj hotel in Chandigarh. He shares the same dressing room as Brian Lara and Nathan Astle. When I speak to him, he's having lunch with Vikram Solanki, Johan van der Wath and Danny Redrup, a South African physio who is "showing me the sort of fitness a cricketer needs". For the first time in Powar's life he has a sense of security. "Tell me one reason why I shouldn't join the ICL" he challenges.
Powar's isn't an isolated case. The general mood among the Indian domestic players who have joined the ICL is one of disgruntlement. "Until today none of us had an option," says a player who was picked for India a couple of years ago. "Now we have someone to take care of us. Wait for some time and players will just rush in."
The BCCI's apathy is a sore point. A domestic veteran talks about a prominent state association. "They made a big din about introducing central contracts for players," he says. "Finally, we said, we've got some security. And they give us an annual contract of Rs 25,000 [US$ 500 approximately]. Is that any sort of money for a year?"
Even more frustrating has been the handling of injuries. Shalabh Srivatsava, an Under-19 star who went on to do well consistently for Uttar Pradesh, travelled to South Africa for an expensive surgery. He is still waiting to be reimbursed. Rakesh Patel, the Baroda fast bowler who was selected for the Indian one-day side recently, underwent a similar fate. "The biggest problem is we can't play when we're injured," says Powar. "It means no reimbursement and no match fees. How do you survive?"
Redrup chips in: "This is exactly how rugby used to be conducted in South Africa during the amateur days. But things changed with professionalism."
The situation with the coaching staff who have signed up with the ICL isn't too different. Erapalli Prasanna, the former India offspinner, who was with the BCCI's ill-fated spin wing had had enough of being ignored. "By sending me to Nagpur and to Kolkata for short periods, the NCA [National Cricket Academy] sent a clear message that I was not required. The other signal I got was that the BCCI wanted to get rid of me. The spin wing is finished."
Sandeep Patil, who is currently coaching the Mumbai Champs, echoes those views. ""I waited for the BCCI to give me a suitable job to serve Indian cricket. Twice I had written to the BCCI president, Sharad Pawar, expressing my interest to be a coach of the India A side. I was assured a two-year contract, but after waiting for almost one and a half years, nothing came of it."
Hurdles, hurdles, hurdles
It's not been easy for these players and coaches who have signed with the ICL. They are derisively referred to as "money whores".
Reetinder Singh Sodhi, the former India allrounder, speaks about being refused entry into a ground in Patiala. "Imagine the scene," he says. "You've gone to a ground to practise almost every day of your life. And one day they stop you. As if I'm a criminal or something. I'm still playing cricket only, no?"
Bengal's players faced a similar situation at the Calcutta Cricket and Football Club, though the Essel Group, which runs the ICL, had a corporate membership at the club. JP Yadav and Mohnish Mishra, two Madhya Pradesh players, were forced to withdraw from a club tournament in Bhopal for a similar reason.
Three Hyderabad players with jobs in state banks were apparently transferred to Kolkata recently. They've to now choose between moving to a new city and losing their jobs.
All ICL players have been banned from playing in corporate tournaments organised by the BCCI. Those who have jobs have had their terms of employment made more stringent. Madhya Pradesh batsman Abbas Ali, who works with Indian Oil, is required to work from 9am to 5pm every day and struggles to find time for practice.
It is the youngsters who are hardest hit. "A young cricketer finds a job by telling his employees that he's a cricketer," says JP Yadav, the former India allrounder. "Now, since he can't play corporate tournaments, how is a company going to give him a job? That's a big worry."
Another implication is that cricketers may have to give up the option of playing league cricket in England - since that requires a minimum qualification of four first-class games in a season.
Positives galore
Despite the ostracism the players remain upbeat. When JP Yadav walked into the Tau Devi Lal Stadium in Panchkula, his first reaction was simple: "It's fine, yaar. You're talking to someone who's played cricket all his life at the Karnail Singh Stadium." That, incidentally, is the headquarters of the Indian Railways side, a first-class ground that's universally regarded as India's worst in terms of facilities.
The players have been given 12 pairs each of coloured uniforms. They've been exposed to physios and trainers streets ahead of the ones they've been used to in Indian first-class cricket. They've received 25% of the yearly payment promised them (as the base price), and are happy to see sums being deposited every month in Axis Bank accounts that have been opened for them.
Some foreign players have been impressed with the local talent and have spoken about recommending them to counties and provinces. "Abhishek Jhunjunwala has been noticed," says a senior player with the Bengal Tigers. "He was even asked if he would want to qualify to play for England."
The ICL, for all the talk of being the poor cousin to the Indian board's Indian Premier League, is still an option that a number of Indian domestic players are seriously considering. As recently as September, a couple of players on the fringes were apparently seriously contemplating joining. Both made their India debuts subsequently and shelved the plan.
A number of other players, though, are still in the loop. "I've got a call from so many domestic cricketers asking, 'What's happening, are they recruiting?" says Yadav. "People are definitely interested. It's just a matter of taking the leap." Like several others, he is convinced that the next 15 days will only reinforce their faith.
India deal 'pretty much signed and sealed' - Kirsten
November 30, 2007
Kirsten, the former South African batsmen who is the front-runner to become India's next coach, said that the deal with the Indian board would be "pretty much signed and sealed" by Monday.
Kirsten was interviewed in Delhi on November 26 by the coach selection committee, comprising former captains Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri and S Venkataraghavan, BCCI joint secretary MP Pandove, treasurer N Srinivasan and secretary Niranjan Shah. Anil Kumble, India's Test captain, was also present at the meeting.
"They [BCCI] have given me a week to make a decision but it's pretty much a reality," Kirsten told PTI. "I have turned down numerous coaching opportunities due to family reasons in the past but this is such an esteemed one that I have to take a different look at it. I am very keen in principle to take up the post.
"At present, I am just looking at the logistics with my family and how it is going to work out. Negotiations are underway about this and I will make a final decision by Monday."
The coach selection committee had wanted to speed up the process by appointing a coach before the tour of Australia next month, but Kirsten said that although the job would become effective immediately, he had obtained an assurance that he could start later because of a number of commitments in South Africa.
"The reality is that I was approached quite late by the Indian board, and, in accepting the job, I told them I had commitments over Christmas and New Year," Kirsten explained to the Age. "But it looks like we are close to resolving that issue, and I will join the team for the last two Tests.
"The last thing you want to do is come in and be a distraction, but I have spoken to Anil [Kumble] about my situation, and he is comfortable with me joining the tour again later. I will not be coming in and imposing my ideas on them. That would be wrong. Instead, I will try and blend in and help anyway I can."
Kirsten, 40, was one of South Africa's leading batsmen, playing 101 Tests scoring 7289 runs at 45.27 and playing 185 ODIs scoring 6798 runs at 40.95. Soon after his retirement from Test cricket in March 2004, he embarked on a coaching career, taking up an assignment as Cricket South Africa's high performance manager, after which he set up the privately-run Gary Kirsten Cricket Academy.
Kirsten, the former South African batsmen who is the front-runner to become India's next coach, said that the deal with the Indian board would be "pretty much signed and sealed" by Monday.
Kirsten was interviewed in Delhi on November 26 by the coach selection committee, comprising former captains Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri and S Venkataraghavan, BCCI joint secretary MP Pandove, treasurer N Srinivasan and secretary Niranjan Shah. Anil Kumble, India's Test captain, was also present at the meeting.
"They [BCCI] have given me a week to make a decision but it's pretty much a reality," Kirsten told PTI. "I have turned down numerous coaching opportunities due to family reasons in the past but this is such an esteemed one that I have to take a different look at it. I am very keen in principle to take up the post.
"At present, I am just looking at the logistics with my family and how it is going to work out. Negotiations are underway about this and I will make a final decision by Monday."
The coach selection committee had wanted to speed up the process by appointing a coach before the tour of Australia next month, but Kirsten said that although the job would become effective immediately, he had obtained an assurance that he could start later because of a number of commitments in South Africa.
"The reality is that I was approached quite late by the Indian board, and, in accepting the job, I told them I had commitments over Christmas and New Year," Kirsten explained to the Age. "But it looks like we are close to resolving that issue, and I will join the team for the last two Tests.
"The last thing you want to do is come in and be a distraction, but I have spoken to Anil [Kumble] about my situation, and he is comfortable with me joining the tour again later. I will not be coming in and imposing my ideas on them. That would be wrong. Instead, I will try and blend in and help anyway I can."
Kirsten, 40, was one of South Africa's leading batsmen, playing 101 Tests scoring 7289 runs at 45.27 and playing 185 ODIs scoring 6798 runs at 40.95. Soon after his retirement from Test cricket in March 2004, he embarked on a coaching career, taking up an assignment as Cricket South Africa's high performance manager, after which he set up the privately-run Gary Kirsten Cricket Academy.
India v Pakistan, 2nd Test, Kolkata, 2nd day
Ganguly and Laxman add to Pakistan's misery
December 1, 2007
Pakistan 50 for 1 (Butt 26*, Younis 3*) trail India 616 for 5 dec (Jaffer 202, Laxman 112* Ganguly 102, Dhoni 50*) by 566 runs
Had India asked the Gods of cricket to script a perfect day, they would not have been able to better this. Wasim Jaffer completed a double-hundred, VVS Laxman added a dainty hundred and above all, the prince of Kolkata, Sourav Ganguly hit his first hundred in front of a rapt home crowd as India declared on 616 for 5.
Then, in the hour available to their bowlers, they picked off an opener; Pakistan ended on 50 for 1, still a whole galaxy of runs behind. Escape is possible, but with every ball, every run, every over, every boundary that has passed over two days, their spirits have sapped further.
No such problems for Ganguly, to whom this day belonged. His hundred was a significant one: his first against Pakistan, his first at Eden Gardens, and most importantly his first in four years almost to the day against major opposition. It was further proof, if needed, that he has been among India's best batsmen since his return from forced exile. At least one Australian in Rajasthan might wince at a Test record since then that now shows four fifties and two hundreds in ten Tests.
It seemed inevitable from the moment he arrived yesterday, though undoubtedly it helped that the moment was 313 for 3. He was tested briefly this morning and straight after lunch, unimaginatively, with the short ball. He weathered most of it, though lucky to survive a ferocious bouncer from Shoaib Akhtar just after lunch when on 63, Yasir Hameed failing to hold on to a difficult chance at gully.
That apart, Ganguly was by turns regal and cussed. He drove well in front of square - a sure sign that the touch is good - never more than when caressing Mohammad Sami past wide mid-off early this morning. To move in to the nineties, just before mid-day drinks, he bettered it, with what was a mere push, off the same bowler.
In between, the area around point and gully was also well-traversed with cuts, punts, deflections and scythes. When he wasn't hitting boundaries - and that wasn't too often - he was picking up the many easy singles here, there and everywhere. The hundred was celebrated with understandable gusto, though having added 163 at a fair clip with Laxman, a lazy loft to long-on, off Salman Butt of all bowlers, amounted to a needless act of charity.
Laxman, as has recently been the case, put together another fine day's work without too many people taking too much notice. Only when he first came in this morning was he in any strife, and that too lasted no more than an over against Sohail Tanvir. He got in to the groove with a delicious drive off Tanvir, and before Pakistan knew it, he was helping himself to boundaries.
When they erred in length, he would push them between mid-off and extra cover and if they erred in line, he whipped them through the arc between mid-on and square leg. Shoaib and Sami tried to rattle him after lunch with bouncers and succeeded twice: the first, he fended off uncomfortably, and the second he gloved. It is the way of this Test, that he did so over the keeper for four.
The serenity of his progress continued unabated subsequently; he slowed down after tea as he approached his first hundred in 16 innings (he does have six mostly crucial fifties in that period) and his first against Pakistan. It took him six overs to move from 91 to 100, though off 158 balls, it was still swift. Ultimately it mattered not: MS Dhoni was around, and after a circumspect start, casually blazed his way to fifty as the declaration approached.
Apart from brief periods in the morning, when they got Jaffer, and immediately after lunch, Pakistan's bowling was a mass of nothingness: no line, no length, no intent, no plan. Shoaib and Sami looked healthier after a night's rest and stirred occasionally, but never looked like sustaining it. As the afternoon wore on, even Danish Kaneria's restrictive plan to bowl a leg-stump line failed to stop fast, easy runs.
And just when they thought it couldn't get worse, it did. Sent in to negotiate the last hour, they lost Hameed after a bright start. India took to spin as early as the third over, after Zaheer Khan pulled up with an ankle problem, but on a wearing surface, its' introduction was only a matter of time.
December 1, 2007
Pakistan 50 for 1 (Butt 26*, Younis 3*) trail India 616 for 5 dec (Jaffer 202, Laxman 112* Ganguly 102, Dhoni 50*) by 566 runs
Had India asked the Gods of cricket to script a perfect day, they would not have been able to better this. Wasim Jaffer completed a double-hundred, VVS Laxman added a dainty hundred and above all, the prince of Kolkata, Sourav Ganguly hit his first hundred in front of a rapt home crowd as India declared on 616 for 5.
Then, in the hour available to their bowlers, they picked off an opener; Pakistan ended on 50 for 1, still a whole galaxy of runs behind. Escape is possible, but with every ball, every run, every over, every boundary that has passed over two days, their spirits have sapped further.
No such problems for Ganguly, to whom this day belonged. His hundred was a significant one: his first against Pakistan, his first at Eden Gardens, and most importantly his first in four years almost to the day against major opposition. It was further proof, if needed, that he has been among India's best batsmen since his return from forced exile. At least one Australian in Rajasthan might wince at a Test record since then that now shows four fifties and two hundreds in ten Tests.
It seemed inevitable from the moment he arrived yesterday, though undoubtedly it helped that the moment was 313 for 3. He was tested briefly this morning and straight after lunch, unimaginatively, with the short ball. He weathered most of it, though lucky to survive a ferocious bouncer from Shoaib Akhtar just after lunch when on 63, Yasir Hameed failing to hold on to a difficult chance at gully.
That apart, Ganguly was by turns regal and cussed. He drove well in front of square - a sure sign that the touch is good - never more than when caressing Mohammad Sami past wide mid-off early this morning. To move in to the nineties, just before mid-day drinks, he bettered it, with what was a mere push, off the same bowler.
In between, the area around point and gully was also well-traversed with cuts, punts, deflections and scythes. When he wasn't hitting boundaries - and that wasn't too often - he was picking up the many easy singles here, there and everywhere. The hundred was celebrated with understandable gusto, though having added 163 at a fair clip with Laxman, a lazy loft to long-on, off Salman Butt of all bowlers, amounted to a needless act of charity.
Laxman, as has recently been the case, put together another fine day's work without too many people taking too much notice. Only when he first came in this morning was he in any strife, and that too lasted no more than an over against Sohail Tanvir. He got in to the groove with a delicious drive off Tanvir, and before Pakistan knew it, he was helping himself to boundaries.
When they erred in length, he would push them between mid-off and extra cover and if they erred in line, he whipped them through the arc between mid-on and square leg. Shoaib and Sami tried to rattle him after lunch with bouncers and succeeded twice: the first, he fended off uncomfortably, and the second he gloved. It is the way of this Test, that he did so over the keeper for four.
The serenity of his progress continued unabated subsequently; he slowed down after tea as he approached his first hundred in 16 innings (he does have six mostly crucial fifties in that period) and his first against Pakistan. It took him six overs to move from 91 to 100, though off 158 balls, it was still swift. Ultimately it mattered not: MS Dhoni was around, and after a circumspect start, casually blazed his way to fifty as the declaration approached.
Apart from brief periods in the morning, when they got Jaffer, and immediately after lunch, Pakistan's bowling was a mass of nothingness: no line, no length, no intent, no plan. Shoaib and Sami looked healthier after a night's rest and stirred occasionally, but never looked like sustaining it. As the afternoon wore on, even Danish Kaneria's restrictive plan to bowl a leg-stump line failed to stop fast, easy runs.
And just when they thought it couldn't get worse, it did. Sent in to negotiate the last hour, they lost Hameed after a bright start. India took to spin as early as the third over, after Zaheer Khan pulled up with an ankle problem, but on a wearing surface, its' introduction was only a matter of time.
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