A day after Anil Kumble stepped down as coach of the Indian cricket team, former India coach Madan Lal has slammed Virat Kohli and Co for their superstar culture adding Kohli and his boys needed “Yes Men” like Sanjay Bangar
Madan Lal did not mince words as he admitted that he too faced similar problems when he was the coach of the Indian cricket team. Madan Lal was also not happy with the way Kumble was treated.
Speaking to Cricketnext, Lal added that Indian cricketers had attitude issues and need people like batting coach Sanjay Bangar to massage their egos.
“These boys want ‘yes men’ around them. The likes of Bangar suit the bill for them as they are happy getting their egos boosted. Anybody who stands in their way and shows them the mirror or questions them back must go. This has always been the trend and happened even when I was a coach (1996-97). I had a 45 per cent win record, but even then, I had to leave.
Madan Lal pointed out that coaching the Indian cricket team was more about managing egos that get results. The former World Cup winner said, “The reason was that I was passionate about just winning and wasn’t an expert when it came to man-management. Coaching the Indian team is as much about managing the egos as it is about getting results.”
Madan Lal further explained why Foreign coach have had a long tenure with India and pointed out the reason behind their preference over Indian coaches.
“The sole reason why the foreign coaches succeeded was that they were happy to stay in the background and not question the authority of the senior players. Be it John Wright, Gary Kirsten or Duncan Fletcher. They were all successful and had long stints because they didn’t want to pose questions or challenge the big boys. The moment one of them did question, we saw what happened to him (hints at Greg Chappell). There is immense pressure when you are coaching such strong personalities and it is never easy,” he said.
Madan Lal did not mince words as he tore into prevalent superstar culture in the Indian team admitting the Kohli-Kumble fallout was an inevitable situation, “This is the trend in Indian cricket. The players are the bosses. It has happened over the years and continues to happen. The captain decides everything and it isn’t like Australian or English cricket wherein the players and coaches are on the same pedestal and there is no ‘superstar’ culture. In India, if you have rubbed the captain the wrong way, you are as good as finished. While it is still not clearly known why and how the Kohli-Kumble relation went downhill, Kumble deserved better treatment.”
