Gary Kirsten new coach for BCCI XI

Reports coming in that Gary Kirsten has been offered the coaching position after Chappel.

Someone should send him a DVD of 'Guru Chappel'.

Anyone except an aussie seems BCCI mantra.

They kept Whatmore on the warmer in NCA after feeding him promises that he would surely be made next coach. Poor Dave.

Well at least this time they havent appointed a big name just for the sake of it. Could be a shrewd choice. Who knows. I didnt even know that Kirsten was coaching these days.

Can anyone tell what are the coaching credentials of Gary Kirsten?

Well Duncan Fletcher was his mentor at Western Province in the 90's. Erm......I think he runs some sort of coaching clinic for kids in South Africa.....

Can anyone tell what are the coaching credentials of Gary Kirsten?

http://www.spectare.com/dispatches/Londonbombaycebu/kd2-India/index.html
Kirsten's Journal #2: India
June 2001

When we first got into India it was very strange to see cows everywhere wandering the streets, and all the women were colorfully dressed.
In India, we went to the jungle. We went to Ranthambore and Corbet national parks. In Ranthambore it got up to 116 degrees. There were tiger cubs in Ranthambore but we didn’t see them. But we did see Peacocks and lots of beautiful birds in both of the parks. In all we saw tigers very close and one by elephant back. We got about four yards away from a tiger, but I wasn’t afraid because tigers won’t attack like lions do. I rode elephants three times. Sometimes I would even be the first to spot a herd of wild elephants. We even saw a rare leopard lounging on a branch.


My favorite kind of bird in India is the Rose Ringed Parakeet and the Paradise Flycatcher. The Paradise Flycatcher has tail feathers three times the size of its body! The Rose Ringed Parakeet is not like the parakeets at pet shops. They are more the size of parrots, and have lots of color even on their beaks. In the jungles and the foothills of the Himalayas we saw big green parakeets everywhere.


Once we rode an elephant that had been ridden all the way around India! Her name was Tara. And we got to swim with her! At a different area we rode a different elephant to a different river and scrubbed it with stones. That’s how you are supposed to wash them, and they really like it! It was a little scary to be driving along a jungle track and suddenly see suck huge elephants pop out of nowhere. The elephants with the tusks are the scariest because they could really do some damage with those tusks.
In the Thar Desert, we rode camels through a sandstorm. And saw monitor lizards and lots of deer. The people in the Thar Desert live in houses made out of mud and cow poop. On the houses are paintings and designs of animals like peacocks. And closer to the Himalayas, sloth bears live in the wild. In the Himalayas, we went trekking 30km both ways. After trekking we went to our campsite at a lake. We saw some yaks. They are like bulls with lots of hair. At the campsite we could find many good luck horseshoes. Also if you look hard enough you can find fossils of seashells and other sea things. Up there it was a lot colder than when we were in the jungles. Some mornings there was even frost on the ground.

Our guide's name was Christy Verghes. He really worked hard to help us and he brought along his dog Charlie. Christy loves Land Rovers so much he has eight of them. In the jungles we met Christy’s niece and nephew, Natasha and Vivek. Natasha is seven and Vivek is eight.

My favorite parts of the trip are trekking in the Himalayas, seeing all the wildlife in the jungles, and camping in the Thar Desert.

All those things are wonderful but not everything was perfect. The driving was terrible and there was too much pollution in the cities. Even though I was there for 3months and the driving is bad, I think I would like to go back someday!

I agree that it is not a bad idea to go with a low profile name that comes without all the baggage that GSC brought with him.

Gary was a very determined gutsy bloke. Could be a good move by BCCI for once.

So the new scapegoat has been named . . . good luck, Gary Kirsten, you'll need it old son!

when will the bcci ever appoint a qualified and successful coach? how hard is it?

two excellent choices in moody and whatmore were shown the door. i hope this is not another chappell in the making

I have a feeling that this is a Saffie Chappell.

Whatmore would have been a disaster for India. He had a iron fisted approach that was doomed for failure given the big egos the Indian team normally carries around.

I reckon that Gary K will work out for India. Would be good to have him on board prior to the OZ tour.

Josh Carney wrote:Whatmore would have been a disaster for India. He had a iron fisted approach that was doomed for failure given the big egos the Indian team normally carries around.

I reckon that Gary K will work out for India. Would be good to have him on board prior to the OZ tour.

Like the Saffies know anything about winning in Australia . . .

SG wrote:Can anyone tell what are the coaching credentials of Gary Kirsten?

He is brilliant at everything he does. Just ask bliksem.

I seem to recall he was working with the high performance academy in SA.

He needs his head read if he takes this job.

Latest Reports:

Gary Kirsten has agreed 'in principle' to accept the offer of team coach for BCCI.

He has been given a 2 year term.

It can be extended by an year. And he is expected to begin his job starting with the Bangalore test against Pakistan.

So will last about 6 months then

They rejected quite a few big names, (and a few big names rejected them) to get Kirsten. If it was any other org than the BCCI, I'd have hoped they knew what they were doing. As it is I know they don't.

Kirsten to me has always seemed like a level headed guy- A quiet and thoughtful yet determined bloke. Actually he's the sort of character who tends to make a good coach. I think it could be a good move.

The Kirstenator was the High Performance Development (or something like that) coach for SA for a while (Allan Donald was his bowling counterpart) and then he ran a Cricket Academy for talented schoolkids. He's been coached by Drunken Fletcher and Bob Woolmer in the past, so I'm sure he knows his stuff.

He will be the first person to have a successful time coaching the Indian team and will even make the administrators bow to his will. Then he will cure cancer, abolish world hunger and convince Merlin to admit that he is Norfolk Ian.

bliksem wrote:convince Merlin to admit that he is Norfolk Ian.

No one is that good

ndtv just reported kirsten didn't actually apply for the job but was approached by the bcci out of the blue - lol

bit out the blue. since chappell left we have had the best run of results since the 2003/4 season...shouldve just kept the manager and fielding/bowling coach system.

reading the interview on cricinfo kirsten seems a bit surprised himself that hes been considered and tbh a bit indifferent to it all.

Ash wrote:bit out the blue. since chappell left we have had the best run of results since the 2003/4 season...shouldve just kept the manager and fielding/bowling coach system.

reading the interview on cricinfo kirsten seems a bit surprised himself that hes been considered and tbh a bit indifferent to it all.

Obviously Chappell's hard work is starting to pay off . . . pity he left so early.