Mohammad Kaif explained the major difference between Greg Chappell and John Wright, who couldn't have had more contrasting experience coaching Team India.
Wright had a nice working relationship with the then skipper Sourav Ganguly, as they took Indian cricket out of the dark shadows of the match-fixing scandal at the turn of the century.
For Chappell, however, his whole tenure after Wright left in 2005, was spent around talks over fall out with Ganguly and how some of the big names of that side disagreed with the man's approach.
"Chappell (the Australian batting great) could have been a good batting coach. But he spoilt his name, as he could not run the team properly, he couldn't understand the Indian culture and lacked good man-management skills and hence didn't prove to be a good coach," Kaif, who played for India from 2002 to 2006, told the Times of India.
"People respected John Wright because he coordinated well with the players and let Ganguly the captain lead the team from the front," he stressed.
Kaif, meanwhile, also elucidated what it takes to become a good fielder, having been one of India's finest himself in the outfield.
"To become a good fielder one has put in long hours of practice," he said. "The fielding drills should not be about quality but quantity, only then one can become a good fielder. One should be obsessed about becoming a good fielder. Because a match doesn't have a 30-minute time span, so you should have the fitness of staying on the ground."
"A catch can come anytime even if you are tired, you may have to dive, you may have to slide to catch the ball. That ability comes through the practice of quantity, not quality. You should also have a good technique and good hand-eye coordination," Kaif added.
"But if you make up your mind that you have to spend long hours at the field, then you can become a good fielder. One cannot become a good fielder by looking at the time and an hour-long practice. Keep the time aside and give emphasis on effort and commitment, only then you can become a good fielder."
In the current Indian team, Kaif finds Ravindra Jadeja at another level with his catching and outfielding.
"Jadeja is improving by age and is setting a good example," he said. "Just like a complete batsman is the one who can play the bouncer well, is able to drive, play the cut and the pull well and play spin also comfortably and has patience to stay at the crease. All these things add up to make a good batsman. It is the same in fielding."
"You should know how to slide, you should be able to run fast, you should have endurance, you should have a good aim even after stopping the ball with a dive. All these things add up to make a good fielder."
"So I feel batting and fielding have lots of similarities and a good fielder who is also a good batsman should also be called an all-rounder. And a player should be rewarded for being a good fielder so that a player gets encouragement to become a good fielder," Kaif concluded.
(Inputs from TOI)
