'Wright Has Done A Good Job'

Coach John Wright, whose contribution to the success ofthe Indian team has been widely acknowledged, is likely to be offered a freshcontract when his current tenure ends in September this year.

Acknowledging that the former New Zealand captain haddone a "good job" since becoming the coach in November 2000, Board presidentJagmohan Dalmiya said he believed in continuity.

However, Dalmiya maintained the decision regardingre-appointment of the coach would be taken by the Board's working committee.

"We have no idea of saying goodbye to anybody atthe moment. Wright has done a good job, but it is a decision which will be takenby the working committee at a later stage," Dalmiya said in an interview.

"May be the working committee will empower the presidentto take a decision. We have to wait," he said, adding that a decision wouldbe taken at an appropriate time.

The former New Zealand opener took over the job fromKapil Dev for the home series against Zimbabwe in 2000 and his contract wasextended by a year before the TVS Cup in Dhaka last year.

The BCCI chief said he had separate interactions withall the members of the support staff after the historic Pakistan tour and haddrawn up a detailed programme for the forthcoming season.

"I had a meeting with all of them after the Pakistan tour and mydiscussions with them gave me an idea of what we need to do. I told them thatthey had done a good job. The country is celebrating... But it is important notto get complacent. We need to keep the good work going," he said.

Dalmiya said he always believed in having regulardiscussions with the captain and coach and get their feedbacks on what wasrequired to be done.

"I strongly feel that cricketing decisions shouldbe left to the people who play the game. We are administrators and need to knowfrom the players what they need." Dalmiya said scientific planning andfocus on physical fitness had been largely responsible for India's splendidperformance in the last couple of years.

"The success is not just a fluke. It is because ofthe scientific planning that has gone behind and I hope India will not look backfrom here.

"The new boys are settling down very fast and havestarted giving the results. The senior players are leading from the front andthat augurs well for the team. But there are other important things that havebeen taken care by the Board like stress on physical fitness and giving thejuniors necessary international exposure," he said.

Dalmiya said the Board's emphasis on activating the junior level programme hadstarted the process of a "supply line" and strengthened the reservebench of the national team.

"We know there is no dearth of talent in thecountry, it is a question of giving the youngsters the opportunity to play more.The frequent tours of the India 'A' and Under-19 teams have really helped as ithas given players exposure to international matches.

"When these players come to the highest level,they must have the international exposure and the fitness to be able to perform.That is why we have stressed so much on preparing the juniors," heexplained.

Dalmiya said the Board had now made it mandatory forall teams in the domestic circuit to employ a quality physical trainer and theunder-15, under-17 teams would also have the services of trainers as"fitness is a key area of the game".

"All the affiliated units have been given latestimported equipment brought from USA so that the fitness aspect is taken care of."

Dalmiya said while performance was of "primeimportance", the issue of setting up the infrastructure and looking afterthe needs of former cricketers was also vital.

"Without money you cannot have good programmes. Itis important to plough back money for the development of the game. We need tolook how best we can build the system," he said.

The chief said as part of its efforts to streamline cricket at the domesticlevel, the Board was planning to divide under-19 cricket into two sections fromnext year.

"We have divided domestic cricket into twocategories -- Elite and Plate -- so that the stronger teams play among eachother to avoid one-sided contests. We are planning to do the same at theunder-19 level," he said.

On reports that the BCCI was planning to rope in theservices of film stars and top cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar and captain SauravGanguly to boost its image, Dalmiya said "Image building is not thepriority of the Board. We are just concentrating on cricket.

"Those who know what the BCCI is doing, they know.Generally, there is a lot of gossip about what the Board is doing... there is nodearth of gossip mongers. The Board does not get the proper image, but we arehappy if we can raise the standard of Indian cricket," he said.

"The Board spends about Rs 60 to 70 crore per yearon coaching and facilities. It is because we are spending so much, we aregetting the players. Today, the reserve bench is overflowing".

Dalmiya also felt that the ten-year calender finalisedby the International Cricket Council was "too cramped" and provided noscope for teams to alter their itineraries.

"We would like to play more against Australia butwe cannot do so because of the cramped schedule. I think Australia and India arethe top two teams at the moment. It is only when we play against them, we willknow what we need to do to become number one," he said.

PTI