Have India erred by not hiring a SA consultant?
Touring a country outside the subcontinent presents its own set of problems. The maximum a willing host may provide are a few practice games and local bowlers at every Test venue. India though were bold enough to opt out of the only practice game in Paarl ahead of the South Africa series and focus on playing among themselves instead. As the top Test nation, they couldn’t be faulted for believing in their ability to adapt quickly, though the decision is now being questioned in the wake of their 2-0 loss.
But did India miss a bigger trick by not seeking a former South African cricketer as consultant for this series? With a number of former South Africa players available and some of the more prominent faces commentating in this series, it’s difficult to believe India wouldn’t have found someone.
The concept isn’t new. The idea of hiring consultants on a shortterm basis has been embraced more by teams outside Asia. Teams like Australia have explored this option ahead of every tour though the results haven’t gone their way often. Like when they had appointed Muttiah Muralitharan as spin consultant for their tour of Sri Lanka in 2016. Sri Lanka went to win all three Tests by big margins but Australia hadn’t given up on the idea.
When it was time for the India series, not only did Australia hire Monty Panesar — who had wreaked havoc for England on the 2012 tour of India — but also got on board S Sriram as spin consultant. India did win the series 2-1 but till the third Test, Australia had done well to hold them 1-1. Before that series, India hosted England who had brought along Saqlain Mushtaq to guide their spinners.
Asian teams, in comparison, haven’t explored this idea much. Last year, Sri Lanka had appointed Allan Donald as bowling consultant during the Champions Trophy but apart from that, there haven’t been many instances of foreigners being assigned specific roles ahead of major tours.
India though have not tapped into local expertise, especially with their top-order batsmen struggling.
Not that India don’t have specific overseas consultants already. Zaheer Khan and Rahul Dravid were signed as bowling mentor and batting consultant but while Dravid is in New Zealand with the U-19 team, it’s not known why Zaheer didn’t fly with the team. Had there been a South African consultant, India could have prepared better for the Cape Town Test and maybe even got their selection right after analysing a unique Centurion pitch.