Foreign coach not before February — Lele

SHARJAH, OCTOBER 22: Cricket Board secretary Jaywant Lele on Sunday ruled out the appointment of a foreign coach for the Indian cricket te...

SHARJAH, OCTOBER 22: Cricket Board secretary Jaywant Lele on Sunday ruled out the appointment of a foreign coach for the Indian cricket team before February next year.

He said after the interviews, slated for Monday at Chennai, the matter would be put forward to the Board’s committees and the foreign coach can be in place not before Australia’s tour of India.

“Only after formal clearance the coach will start functioning and I don’t see it happening before the Australians are here in February,” he said.

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The two coaches in the running are John Wright of New Zealand and Greg Chappell of Australia.

Lele said the `real worth’ of the new coach would only be known when India goes on tours abroad.

“Anyone can deliver the goods in India. We have a series against Zimbabwe and we are unlikely to fare poorly against them. Then, if the Pakistan tour doesn’t happen, we will have a series against Australia at home — we are unlikely to do badly against them either.

“So, in my opinion, whether a foreign coach has brought in some real good changes or not will only be known when India tours abroad,” Lele argued in his inimitable style.