India’s senior players Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh want outgoing coach Gary Kirsten to continue in the job, saying the inspirational South African worked hard for the team’s success and would be missed.
Kirsten had decided to quit from his position as India coach before the World Cup had begun and has played a key role in transforming the Indian team into world beaters.
“Personally I want Gary to continue but I understand he has got commitments and he must have thought about this before the tournament. I respect his decision,” Tendulkar said.
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“It has been a pleasure to work with him, he worked as hard as the players, he is like a bowling machine, bowling 200-300 balls to the batsmen. It has always been a fabulous experience to rub shoulder with him, we will miss him,” he added.
Yuvraj, who was going through a rough patch before the World Cup, said Kirsten was a father figure and helped him to regain his confidence.
“He always kept a check on me. He pulled me up when the chips were down. He is a father figure and I am going to miss him,” Yuvraj told ICC’s official website.
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Kirsten, under whose guidance India became the number one Test and ODI side, ended with the team’s World Cup title triumph and he has already ruled out reconsidering the decision.
“Cricket has been in the right direction since Gary came on and I hope it will remain so,” said Yuvraj.
The dashing left-hander, who was named Man of the Tournament for a fine show with both bat and ball, said winning the mega-event was a dream realised.
“It’s like living a dream. It still hasn’t sunk in and the guys haven’t slept. We have kissed the trophy about a 1000 times,” he said.
“I am very proud of the team and myself. Our dream was to make the finals but to win it was extraordinary. Now I understand what it means to be a world champion,” he added.