India were denied a series win in a T20I bilateral series at home for the first time in years, with West Indies and India winning two games each before the decider in Bengaluru was washed out. It shouldn’t be a surprise because, if you look at the game-changers and match-winners in the Indian Premier League over the last 19 years, you will find the men from the Caribbean lead the numbers. They may not end up getting the Orange and Purple Caps, but when you count the number of games in which they have turned a match around, you will find that it is a West Indian who has done it with a quick-fire innings or a spell of wickets towards the end of the match. There is also the athletic fielding and catching that brings the crowd to its feet, and the celebrations, unique and not copies of footballers’. They are truly the entertainers, and yet they hardly get the applause or the pay cheques that others from SENA countries get. Is it the old complex, I wonder?
Speaking of the IPL, the franchises have started to gear up just a couple of months before the mini-auction, and we are getting announcements about who is being hired and who is being fired. Here, too, the complex is evident. The men from the Caribbean do not speak the fancy language of management, and it does not help that their happy and cheerful attitude is misunderstood as a sign that they do not care enough. So, despite winning the T20 World Cup twice and always being a threat in any tournament they participate in, their former players are not looked upon as coaching material. The mistaken belief that they know little about technique and tactics and rely only on their natural abilities is entirely wrong. In all my years of playing and watching cricket, the technique and tactics spoken of by the men from the Caribbean have always been the most practical.
To spend time with the likes of Sir Everton Weekes, Sir Clyde Walcott, Rohan Kanhai, Sir Clive Lloyd, Sir Viv Richards and Brian Lara is to marvel at how, despite their abundance of rare, God-given abilities, they thought so deeply about their cricket. Sir Garfield, too. In recent times, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard and Daren Sammy have also shown that it is not just natural ability but a great deal of thought that goes into their cricket. Look at the way Sunil Narine bowls, changing his line and length according to the batter and the match situation.
Every franchise squad invariably has more Indian players, as only four overseas players can play in the XI. Plenty of the Indian players come from the interiors of the country, where English is not widely spoken. Therefore, when an overseas coach is speaking, much of what he says goes over the heads of these young players. Here, it makes eminent sense for the franchises to hire an Indian as an assistant coach who can translate and convey what the overseas coach is saying. It is easier for the youngsters to approach an Indian coach who can speak their language, empathise with them and help them overcome the nerves and anxiety of playing in front of the huge crowds that the IPL attracts.
It was interesting to read about the application Laxman Sivaramakrishnan made for an opportunity to work as a bowling coach. During his time, he was a terrific bowler who thought deeply about the game. Confidence was not always his strongest suit and, as every leg-spinner will tell you, he needed a captain who understood that a leggie can be expensive at times but is a match-winner, too. As a commentator, too, he brought an understanding of the difficult craft to viewers.
There are so many like him who could be a great help to the young Indians in the teams. Names that readily come to mind include Praveen Kumar, a terrific swing bowler who cleverly mixed his deliveries and bowled the occasional bouncer to keep the batter guessing, and Piyush Chawla, another smart bowler who was part of the 2011 World Cup-winning team. If age is not a factor, Balwinder Singh Sandhu, too, has a deep knowledge not just of swing bowling but of the game itself. R. P. Singh and Pragyan Ojha were also clever, thinking bowlers in their time, though both are national selectors now. I have not named many others because they are pursuing careers as television analysts, but if they wish to, they, too, could be terrific coaches.
It is good to see so many former Indian players coaching the franchises. Finally, it looks as if the foreign complex is being shed, though it might take a little more time for it to disappear completely. Never forget, this is the INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE.
Published on Oct 21, 2026
