MS Dhoni bats for coach who understands Indian culture

Mumbai: Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni pointed out that the coach who can perceive and understand the culture of Indian players in the team can achieve far better success than the rest.

Although former India cricketer Sanjay Bangar has been appointed interim Head Coach of the team during the Zimbabwe tour, the BCCI is still on the hunt for a candidate on a permanent basis.

“More than the language, the coach who can understand our upbringing will always be better with us. In the past too whichever coaches have understood us well, they have worked better in the team’s favour,” Dhoni told reporters here on Tuesday ahead of the team’s departure to the African nation.

The BCCI formally advertised for the post of Head Coach for Team India last month.

The application deadline remains June 10, as announced by BCCI President Anurag Thakur. Ravi Shastri and chief selector Sandeep Patil have already applied for the coveted post.

The nine-point circular in the advertisement also included a clause which stated a 'desire' to have a Hindi speaking coach.

However, the BCCI later clarified its stance on the disputed section.

“Communication skills befitting the coach of an international team are mandatory along with the ability to effectively convey the right messages and must demonstrate proficiency in English. The ability to communicate in an Indian language is desirable but by no means mandatory,” the statement read.

Quizzed if communication would be a barrier for the new coach, Dhoni, who will be leading the Men in Blue for the first time in Zimbabwe, negated any such issues.

“I don’t there is much problem as far as communication is concerned. It’s not a big barrier. There are players who come from different language groups and sometimes when they do not understand what the coach is saying they take the initiative of asking others. Communication can be the criteria but not the only one,” he added.

Since Duncan Fletcher's departure after the ICC 2015 World Cup, India played under the guidance of Team Director Shastri, whose tenure ended with the World T20 in April.

Dhoni also made a mention that the new coach should fit into the team well and should not be bogged down by it’s hectic schedule.

“Everybody wants to become the coach of the Indian team because we keep playing continuously. A lot of international coaches face a similar problem that we play a lot of cricket. According to the availability we will have to see the best option that fits into the team well,” Dhoni said.