The answers lie within, Gary!
Reproducing some of Gary Kirsten’s thoughts penned on his website (before the BCCI implemented the gag order on the poor chap).
His priorities on taking over the Indian Coach’s role were crystal clear in their straightforwardness.
Results are everything in professional sport. And sometimes they can be nothing, too. Results determine the short to medium term future of players and coaches and the longer term future for administrators, but sometimes it is crucial for all of those directly involved in professional sport to take a small step back from the importance of next week's game in order to ensure the best results for the next year or two, or five.
It has been fantastic to have Paddy onboard for the start of my time with India and I have no doubt it will have a significant bearing on India's long-term prospects. Having said that, I cannot lie. Just like every Indian fan, I want to win EVERY game! Paddy and I may advocate the long-term view, but we are both winners and will stop at nothing to make sure we win next week!
These are his ponderings on the bench strength and rotation policy issues before the Sri Lanka tour in July 2008.
Mental techniques in cricket have occupied as much time as technical issues and it has been extremely important for all of us to get to know each other individually because the one-day squad is now substantially different to the Test squad.
And I am happy with that situation. I believe age does play a role in the performances of most players and, equally, I don't believe that many players are suited to all three forms of the game. In fact, I don't even believe, necessarily, that those players who are suited to one-day cricket should play in every game.
One of my most important tasks as head coach will be to implement a rotation policy for the national squads in order to keep our best players rested and fresh. It won't be easy – it never is – but I'm sure there is a sufficient level of maturity and understanding among the players to accept that there is simply too much cricket for any single player to perform at his best all the time.
Anyway, it will take time to get it right. And it won't be a perfect science.
His reading of the differing requirements for the 3 versions of cricket too made for a fabulous reading.
Many people have asked me about my thoughts on the IPL and whether this style of cricket will influence the way 50-over cricket and even Test cricket is played. In my opinion, they are three totally different formats, each requiring completely different sets of skills.
The most successful batsmen in the IPL appeared to be the players who could get the ball to the boundary, in unconventional ways, more consistently than others. A lot of this was pure "power hitting" - baseball style, with players setting a good base to swing from, squaring up there shoulders through contact and driving through with their hips to gain maximum power.
Naturally, because of variable conditions, the risk of this style of play is high and not necessarily suited to the 50-over format where boundary options with less risk are required.
I believe the more ‘conventional’ player, who still has boundary hitting ability, will be more successful and not exploited by quality fast bowling in 50-over cricket. Whereas a 50 run partnership in five overs will play a huge part in the success of a T20 game, the same result in a 50-ver game, whilst being very handy, will not necessarily prove to be match-winning.
50-over cricket requires a combination of good hitting ability and the skill to manipulate the field and ‘work’ the ball around the field so as to eliminate risk (as far as possible) and enable the team to reach scores in excess of 270 on good surfaces.
With the help of Paddy and the rest of the Team India support staff, we are trying to set up an environment where each and every player feels comfortable in his role, what is expected of him and what he can achieve for the team.
Each player comes to the team with a different set of skills and it will be our responsibility to find his place in the team, where he is most effective and where he can optimise his abilities. In this way, he benefits the team and optimizes the effectiveness of the unit.
We still have a way to go in understanding what our most effective combinations are, but I'm very excited about the talent that is on display and our goal is to put a squad of players together which can dominate this version of the game over a sustained period.
The man is obviously a keen thinker of the game. The irony is that India is still grappling with it’s rotation policy, still just vaguely aware of the different batting approaches needed for different cricketing versions, still losing mental battles (MSD said this, not yours truly) and most importantly, still thinking about the treasure buried under the rainbow, while struggling from one pitfall to another.
Temporary setbacks are part and parcel of the modern game and it’s not really ‘ringing alarm’ time for Indian cricket but the man in the background will have to shoulder some responsibility along with the skipper. They have to come up with solutions and quickly at that.
A mere promise of that elusive ‘all conquering champion’ team has seen surprisingly mature response from the common Indian fan to a ‘series of unfortunate incidents’. How long it will last is the moot question.
Kirsten writes in his Autobiography – Gazza :
“On my study wall at home I have pictures of my team mates and me in more than a dozen countries, pictures of me scoring hundreds and pictures of me shaking hands with Nelson Mandela and the Queen of England. There are pictures of me celebrating victories with a Castle and a cigar as well as pictures of Debs and me visiting some of the most famous sights in the world.
There aren’t any pictures of the times I was dismissed for nought or when I sat in the change room and cried because I was so disappointed or angry. And there also aren’t any pictures of me during a day of winter training, cold, wet and exhausted.”
There were more good times in your career than bad, Gary! But as you have mentioned yourself, people don’t like revisiting painful memories. Not for long