Chandu Borde: Pawar plays an old card!

By John Cheeran
Indian board’s announcement of former Test cricketer and selection committee chairman Chandu Borde as cricket manager to the Indian team for its Ireland-England tour comes as a surprise. But this surprise was long in the making by the BCCI and is less ‘shocking’ when you consider a series of events that preceded.
The best man to run Indian cricket was Greg Chappell. But having failed to keep him in the event of World Cup fiasco, the BCCI dithered on choosing the next coach. Look at Australian Cricket Board.
They had decided on John Buchanan’s heir apparent even before the World Cup started and had a suitable man groomed for the job.
Indian board was waiting much like the father of the neighbourhood siren waiting for a prospective son-in-law. Sharad Pawar and Niranjan Shah must have believed that Indian board’s assets would lure coaches. Rejection of an eager suitor like Dav Whatmore and spurning by an eligible Graham Ford has forced Pawar to hand over Indian cricket team to 76-year-old Borde, a man who has seen it and done it all.
What signals are the BCCI trying to send out by dusting up Borde from its cupboard?
Borde’s appointment as a cricket manager, when there are many men such as Madan Lal, Mohinder Amarnath and even S Venkataraghavan ready to be crucified as coaches, shows that the board wants to bring in a foreign professional despite its recent snafus.
That should be good news to the followers of Indian cricket.
But the episode exposes the BCCI’s management skills. They knew all about finding a replacement for Chappell after the World Cup meltdown, but despite its overflowing coffers, none were identified.
Even the handling of Ford interface was far from professional, with the Board jumping the gun without waiting for South African’s Yes.
As for the larger debate of whether a cricket team needs coach or a manager the Ireland-England tour will provide answers.
Cricket coaches for senior national teams are a new-fangled phenomenon in 1990s. There are some uncharitable views that post of coaches are a kind of pension scheme for retired cricketers.
Borde is not expected to hold PE for Rahul Dravid and company. Bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad and fielding coach Robin Singh should take care of such affairs.
The problem will arise only when the Indian team, managed by the grand old man, comes back with series win in England.