Shastri bats for Sachin captaincy

Dubai: Former Indian allrounder and Test captain Ravi Shastri believes Sachin Tendulkar is the right man to lead the country because he "commands tremendous respect".

Shastri, who is in Dubai as a guest of the HSBC Cricket Challenge, was reacting to reports that Tendulkar is set to replace Rahul Dravid as captain.

"Tendulkar is the right choice. He is a certainty in the side and he commands tremendous respect from all the teammates," said Shastri, who is also the chairman of the National Cricket Academy.

"He may not be a natural leader but, unlike when he previously led the country, he now has many experienced players around him."

Shastri also felt it would be unfair to entrust Twenty20 and one-day captain M.S. Dhoni with the Test role.

"To be a wicket keeper in a Test match, concentrating every ball over a period of five days is not easy," he said. "If he is given the responsibility of captaining the team as well, it will be a heavy burden on him."

Three stints

Tendulkar had three stints as India captain from 1996 during which he led the side in 25 Tests, winning four and losing nine. He surrendered the captaincy in 2000.

Shastri was temporarily appointed India's coach after the team's disastrous performance in this year's World Cup and he succeeded in transforming the team into a winning unit during the Bangladesh tour. When asked how he brought about the transformation, Shastri said: "The enjoyment factor was missing from the Indian team. I stressed on the need to enjoy collectively in order to start winning."

To a query on whether the Indian team needs a foreign coach, Shastri said: "India does need a coach. It is not a question of whether he has to be an Indian or a foreigner.

"What we need is the right man for the job, someone who has excellent man management skills and is in tune with the modern trends of the game." Talking about his role as the chairman of the National Cricket Academy, Shastri said: "I am there to ensure that the academy is run in a professional manner and my role is to oversee its function.

"Dav Whatmore as the Director of Operations will put the structure in place. It will act as a good finishing school for the elite, especially the Under-19, Under-25, Indian A team players. "Whatmore, with his experience, will be invaluable for the academy."

'Senior players need to be preserved'

Ravi Shastri is urging the Indian selectors to follow a policy of rotation for the senior players based on their form.

"One of them should be rested after six games on the trot if we need to preserve them for another two years as Test players," he said.

"The fact that Dravid has been dropped for two one-dayers does not mean the end of his one-day career. We would need his experience for the Australian tour. For the amount of cricket that is being played, we will need about 20 to 25 players who are fit all the time.

"They need to be given exposure and the team building for the 2011 World Cup should start right away," he said.

Dravid had done very well in his last stint as captain. It is clear that he resigned because of the unnecessary interference of the Mumbai lobby. And the same lobby had persuaded Sachin to take the captaincy. It has to come in a natural way (leadership change) and so it is going to be 100 per cent disaster for the Indian Cricket Team.
Krishnavarma
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: October 29, 2007, 06:57