Strange, but true: India’s World Cup-winning squad of 1983 had precisely one individual for support. P.R.
Man Singh beat back the challenge of Niranjan Shah through an election to earn the right to be the team manager, rounding off the contingent of 15 that would officially represent the country at the last of the 60-over World Cups. Single-handedly, Man Singh had to manage travel and training arrangements, dole out allowances, ensure that all official commitments were honoured, facilitate the immediate treatment of injured players, the works..
. Get it, right? The mushrooming of the cricketing ecosystem has brought us to such a pass that today, on average, there is one member of the support staff for each player in the squad. That’s no longer an excess; with cricket leaving behind its amateur days and stepping into a bold, new professional world where there is no place for excuses or laggards, this has become a necessity, not a luxury.
INTERVIEW | India needs to do well in the first three matches in Paris: Herman Kruis To each their own Cricket head coaches, like their counterparts in other team sports, tend to bring their own coaching staff when they take charge. More than anything else, it’s because they know what these individuals bring to the table, they trust them implicitly and they know that everyone is on the same page, pulling in the same direction. It’s not that they don’t have confidence in the existing personnel; a fresh start is sometimes not just welco.