Players, board not worried about Fletcher's age

MUMBAI: After having experienced the biggest high of winning the World Cup and Team India already right on the top of ICC’s Test rankings, it would be a little baffling to fans that the responsibility of coaching a champion team has been given to a 62-year-old, particularly unknown to India.
Duncan Fletcher, born 1948, played just six one-day internationals taking seven wickets and scoring 191 runs, and with no Test experience at all.He will now follow in the footsteps of Gary Kirsten, Greg Chappell and John Wright - all formidable batsmen and former Test cricketers - who preceded Fletcher in the job.
Why? Fletcher, they say, is as good as they come in the international coaching circuit today. From former South Africa captain Ali Bacher - the country’s leading cricketing voice, to Gary Kirsten - one of South Africa’s best batsmen and recent India coach, to Jacques Kallis - a modern day great, they all swear by Fletcher.
Hardworking, sincere, disciplined, good taskmaster, ear for detail, man who can hold your confidence, successful - these are the words that come rolling out of their mouths when they speak of Fletcher’s coaching abilities. Nasser Hussain and Michael Vaughan have first-hand experience.
In fact, Kallis is known to have spent a great deal of time with Fletcher in recent times after the coach began working with South African cricket as a batting consultant.
Indian cricket is in a phase where change in inevitable. It won’t be long now before Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman -- the backbones of India’s Test line-up -- start thinking about hanging their boots. Bowling too will be left dwindling if Zaheer Khan chooses to stick to one format for the sake of longevity, giving up on the rest.
India will need a man who can work on the young talent flowing thick and fast from across the vast densities of the domestic circuit. The Virat Kohlis, Suresh Rainas, Rohit Sharmas and Cheteshwar Pujaras will have to be worked upon and therefore, senior players and many experts believe Fletcher is the right man.
In Wright, India had a coach who stayed mostly in the background, gave the players their say and share of freedom and that worked well for a very talented unit that was beginning to gel well.
In Chappell, there was a taskmaster who - regardless of the controversies - unearthed some talents who could have gone unnoticed if his stint hadn't come by.
In Kirsten, there was a coach who spent a great deal of time with players and taught them the mantra that there was no secret to handwork. He succeeded immensely.
"In many ways, Fletcher is a combination of all three put together," says a senior official about the man who has been hired on the same terms and conditions as Kirsten.
Of the three former coaches, only Kirsten was a 40-year-old when he took over from Chappell. In comparison, Wright was 48 and Chappell was 57. "Why should age matter at all?" says the official. After having worked with three different characters and seen success of various kinds, he adds, "the board and players are pretty well attuned to what kind of an individual is required for the job. We spent close to three months before settling for him."
At 62 years of age, Fletcher has been brought in to pave the way for a new rush of talent. Senior members of the team and the board are in agreement that experience of dealing individually with players and tapping the right shoulders will be most necessary to deal with an era that will have no Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxmans in the future.
"While they are around, Indian cricket needs to have someone who is capable of helping to pass around the baton," he says.
A lot has gone into selecting the man who will now take over cricket’s most high profile coaching job. And what he does will have a telling impact on India’s cricketing future.