Ganesh against no-captain theory

BANGALORE: Former India hockey captain and coach MP Ganesh is against the 'no-captain' theory favoured by the current chief coach Michael Jack Nobbs, opining that the system would not do any good to the team.Ganesh said the idea of a leadership group should not standin the way of naming a captain."The 'no-captain' policy is foolish.It is the duty of the team management to identify a player with high leadershipand motivational skills. The management cannot camouflage its failure to do soby naming a group," said Ganesh. "I agree it was a mistake to namedifferent captains in a short span in recent times, particularly with some beingnot captaincy material at all. One player simply didn't fit in with his bodylanguage, attitude and ball distribution. Also, you cannot be entrusted thecaptaincy job just because you always score the winning goals. A good captainchooses the best player for a set-piece, judges the situation well, is alwaysalert about the pace of the game and mode of attack. A coach should not giveinstructions from the sidelines because if he can't teach them in the practicesession, it is not going to work in an hour's time," reasoned Ganesh.Ganesh referred to Indian cricket captain MS Dhoni as well. "Dhoniwas identified as good captaincy material early on and senior players includingSachin Tendulkar supported him all through." Conveying his bestwishes to Nobbs, Ganesh said the Aussie should have a rethink on the captaincyissue. "He may take time for it, may be five to six months, but one person hasto be identified as the leader of the pack," he said.