Open to coaching Indian team again in future, reveals Gary Kirsten

After taking over as the Head Coach of the Indian cricket team in 2008, Gary Kirsten transformed the face of cricket in the country and laid the foundation for team India becoming one of the most successful sides in world cricket. Kirsten brought about a revolution in Indian cricket after taking over on March 1, 2008, and all the hard work he’d put in culminated in the most poetic way imaginable, with the Men in Blue lifting their first World Cup title in 28 years at the Wankhede in 2011. 

Now, nine years after parting ways with the Indian side, the South African has revealed that he is always open to making a comeback as a coach in the future but insisted that a lot of things would have to fall into place for that to happen.

“I would always consider it (returning as the coach of the Indian team). Although it would need to work out for everyone,” Kirsten told Times of India.

A major development under Kirsten’s tenure was the transformation of MS Dhoni, who evolved from ‘just another senior cricketer' to the nucleus of the side, with the Jharkhand man even taking up captaincy in all three formats. However, with rumours now spreading about Dhoni potentially calling time on his career, Kirsten has opined that any decision regarding retirement should be left to the wicket-keeper himself. The 52-year-old South African further attested that Dhoni’s attributes make him one of the greatest athletes in modern-day sports.

“MS (Dhoni) is an incredible cricketer. Intelligence, calmness, power, athleticism, speed and a match-winner separate him from others and puts him amongst the greatest sportsmen in the modern era,” Kirsten said.

“He (Dhoni) has earned the right to leave the game on his own terms and no one should dictate to him when that time is.”

Having worked with both Dhoni - in team India - and Kohli - in RCB - the South African took a neutral stance when it came to judging the captaincy of both men.

“It’s very different but equally effective for the Indian team,” said Kirsten, comparing the captaincy of Dhoni and Kohli.

Kirsten, who worked with a plethora of different characters during his tenure with team India, further described Sachin Tendulkar as the easiest person to work with and also attested that he saw potential in Virat Kohli at a very young age.

“Sachin (Tendulkar) was easy to work with because he has such a strong value system as a person. Virat (Kohli) was potentially a great player in 2011 and he is one of the greatest now,” the former India coach concluded.