Former Pakistan and India captains Wasim Akram and Dilip Vengsarkar are of the opinion that an Indian coach would be a better choice to replace Duncan Fletcher, whose tenure with the senior team ended after the ICC World Cup.
“You need an Indian coach to lead the Indian team. You need a person who knows the domestic circuit and has an interest in understanding the domestic setup,” Akram said here on Tuesday.
Vengsarkar said: “We have been picking up foreign coaches who operated out of five-star hotels and were more focused on the players selected for the team and hardly ventured out to know what was happening in the domestic circuit.”
The two former players were speaking at an interaction with the students of a city school.
Akram, who is the bowling coach of Kolkata Knight Riders, voiced his support for the beleaguered Sunil Narine. “You need an element of mystery in T20 cricket. We are waiting for his test reports, and we believe he will come back strong and resume his old form,” Akram said.
While expressing hope that the spinner would make a comeback into the team, Akram expressed satisfaction at the way the seasoned left-arm spinner Brad Hogg has filled in.
Praising the 44-year-old Aussie, who has picked up eight wickets in four matches while maintaining one of the best economy rates in the team, Akram said he had more than made up for Narine’s absence.
Akram also gave credit to KKR skipper Gautam Gambhir for being constantly on the search for a spinner with the ability to surprise the opponent.