Apart from skipper Rohit Sharma and batting superstar Virat Kohli, the one individual who received the most flak for India surrendering the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia could be head coach Gautam Gambhir. The former opener hasn’t had a particularly auspicious start to his stint, losing six and winning just three – two of them at home against Bangladesh – out of 10 Tests, while also coming second-best in a one-day series in Sri Lanka.

The India coaching post is probably the most high-profile and pressurized job in world cricket, and if the incumbent is a big-name ex-player, the eyes of the whole cricketing world will be on him. Rahul Dravid ended his term on a high with the ICC T20 World Cup crown, but there were several disappointments throughout his tenure. Ravi Shastri’s stint could be termed a success overall – highlighted by two series wins in Australia – but the failure to win a global title would also be mentioned simultaneously.

The 1-3 loss in Australia knocked India out of contention for the World Test Championship (WTC) final, but the two teams that have made the title clash provide a pointer to an alternative style of coaching and man-management.

Australia head coach Andrew McDonald and his South African counterpart Shukri Conrad aren’t household names. McDonald played just four Tests, all within less than three months in 2009. A batting average of 21.40 and nine wickets with military medium pace don’t make a glamorous combination.

Conrad grew up in apartheid South Africa, where sporting opportunities for coloured people were severely limited. He played only nine First-Class games between 1985 and 1990.

There are other common features between the two men. The teams they are entrusted with don’t have the greatest assembly of big names, but get the job done. Someone or the other rises to the challenge. Both coaches seem to be laid-back individuals happy to stay in the background, content in their roles as facilitators, allowing the players to have the limelight. Their role is primarily to create a conducive environment which gives the players the best chance to be at their best. Essentially, they understand that it’s not about them.

Enviable record

With McDonald as head coach, Australia has won the 50-over World Cup and the WTC crown (with a chance to defend their title). They currently hold all the bilateral Test series they play. John Buchanan is considered the most successful men’s coach ever, helping Australia win two 50-over World Cups and Test series wins against virtually every team – home and away. But the players at his disposal were some of the greatest the game has seen, with the team considered one of the – if not the – best that had ever been assembled.

In comparison, the present Aussie side doesn’t have that aura. The batting – apart from Steve Smith – doesn’t have legends. The bowling line-up features stalwarts but they are an ageing lot. To achieve what they have – and can do in the near future – puts McDonald’s achievements on a higher pedestal than Buchanan’s.

Under the split-coaching system of South Africa, Conrad is responsible for the Test side. They have made it to the WTC final despite virtually surrendering the away series in New Zealand, as it clashed with their domestic T20 league. They may have had arguably an easier schedule – featuring Test tours of Bangladesh and West Indies in this cycle – but they did get the job done. They also drew a home series against India, while blanking both Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

The South African line-up hardly includes any household names, with most of the players finding their way in Test cricket. But after a relative decline over the last few years, this team has a shot at doing something that the outfits featuring the likes of Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis, AB De Villiers, Hashim Amla and Dale Steyn couldn’t achieve – be world champions in a format.

Both McDonald and Conrad have come through their respective systems rather than being parachuted into the national head coach’s job. It helps that the cricketing set-up in their two countries is a bit more egalitarian and less star-driven. Players are much less reluctant to seek help and advice, even from outside the coaching set-up, if they are struggling with their game. In contrast, a legend like Sunil Gavaskar keeps lamenting that no Indian player approaches him for guidance, even when they keep getting out in a similar fashion.

Start afresh

Being a great player doesn’t necessarily mean one can subsequently become a good coach. One has to give up the baggage and pride of one’s achievements as a player and start with a clean slate. A coach needs to acknowledge that regardless of what he has planned going into a game or a series, success is dependent on how the XI going onto the field will perform.

In football too, some of the biggest names in management – like Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger, Jose Mourinho and Jurgen Klopp – had relatively modest playing careers before excelling when they took charge of teams. Even those who tasted success as players – such as Zinedine Zidane, Pep Guardiola, Xavi and Carlo Ancelotti – started afresh without bringing their stature as footballers to the table.

In contrast, recently-retired stalwarts like Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney, John Terry and Steven Gerrard haven’t had unblemished starts to their coaching and managerial careers.

Cricket is indeed an altogether different sport, with the captain traditionally considered the most important cog in the wheel. A coach can’t do much once the team is out on the field. While an underperforming cricket team may go for a change in the playing XI, sustained underperformance of a football team often results in the manager getting the axe.  

Gambhir is in the news due to events in his stint, which is still in its early stages – be it Ravichandran Ashwin’s sudden retirement, loss of back-to-back series (home and away), and the selection calls made – but it’s his role as a friendly voice in the dressing room who acts as an elder brother to the players that’s vital for the team to turn things around. There will be times when a few ‘honest words’ need to be spoken, but they have a better chance of being effective if they come from an empathetic voice.

McDonald and Conrad seem to have understood their role. They are quietly guiding their charges towards success from the background, without attracting any attention towards themselves. This is exactly how they would like it to be.