A Needless Debate

"Agar aap samajhte hain ke kisi ka rang gora hain aur chamdi alagkism ki hain to woh behtar hain, to main bhi Fair & Lovely lagaana shuru kardeta hoon ke mera rang bhi waisa ho jaaye." [If you think thatbecause some one is fair complexioned, and has a different kind of skin, itmakes them better, then even I would start applying Fair and Lovely so that mycomplexion also becomes like that.]

He himself may have perceived it as plainspeak, the TV channel would have lovedthat as a strong sound byte, but, for many cricket lovers, the comment cameacross as petty, aimed to please the front-benchers. Mohinder Amarnath, he of awonderful pedigree, has dealt his chances of becoming coach of the Indian cricketteam a severe blow with that one comment.

Who on earth had told the affable Amarnath that it was about colour ornationality? Did not someone tell him that it is about other qualities – likehow well the coach can deliver, for instance? Would he not have been advised tostay away from the TV cameras in the run up to the meeting with the panel thatwill choose the coach?

Madan Lal, former India all-rounder and coach, agrees that his formerteam-mate may have blown his chances with a poor comment. At the same time, hebelieved that Amarnath may have been led into saying something like this by apersistent TV reporter.

Why is it that TV channels are fanning a debate on whether Team India’scoach should be an Indian or a foreigner? They have succeeded in infiltratingthis idea even among those who don’t normally follow cricket. I reckon that theTRP game – a fact of life – has driven 24-hour news networks to find issuesthat can provoke debate.

This was driven home when I was chatting with a friend of mine who asked mewhether the Indian team should have a foreigner as coach. My response wassimple: India must have a coach who can deliver the goods by motivating theplayers to consistently match their performance with potential.

"Being politically correct, aren’t you?" she said.

I was suitably goaded now. "Do so many of us Indians ask such questionswhen the nation welcomes MNCs to invest? Do we ask such questions when overseasbanks and insurance companies are dime a dozen in India – and help make themarket more competitive? Why are we suddenly so excited about having an Indiancoach the cricket team?"

There has been some talk of how home-bred coaches are prone to encourageregionalism and that India’s experience with John Wright was pleasant on thatfront. It is unfair to assume that all Indian coaches are parochial, just as itwill be to presume that all overseas coaches will be strangers to partiality.

My conversation with Madan Lal – strangely in a Noida police station wherehe was discovering that the cops had given up on finding his stolen car while Iwas reporting lost credit cards and driving licence – also focussed on how thesenior players were themselves against an Indian coach.

"Who has said senior players are against Indians coaching the team?" Iasked him. "It is all over in the media, isn’t it?" he said. I loved this."Has any senior cricketer been quoted as saying that no Indian should be coachof the team? Or has anyone written a column to that effect? Or have you seen anyTV report where a player has said things like this?" I asked him, aware thathe would draw a blank to all my questions.

Madan Lal has been around far too long to not realise that if the story hasnot originated from the players themselves, its genesis has to be in theboardroom where six men who are making a decision may have consulted some seniorplayers. And why is that person hiding behind the veil of anonymity?

As I drove away from the police station, I found it hard to stop thinking ofhow inferiority complex can be among one’s most dangerous enemies. And itcomes through clear as crystal, especially if there is an attempt to couch it assuperiority complex. This is something that all those propagating an Indian ascoach must keep at the back of their minds.