McGrath: Kumble will bring ‘fighter’ attitude to his coaching

Asked about spin legend Anil Kumble’s appointment as the head coach of the Indian cricket team, McGrath replied, "I have not seen much of him as a coach but Anil has been around a lot. He has been a fighter as a cricketer. I guess he will bring the same attitude to his coaching."

Published : Jul 04, 2016 20:26 IST , Chennai

Australia legend Glenn McGrath will be at the MRF Pace Foundation to offer coaching advices to Indian and Australian fast bowlers.
Australia legend Glenn McGrath will be at the MRF Pace Foundation to offer coaching advices to Indian and Australian fast bowlers.
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Australia legend Glenn McGrath will be at the MRF Pace Foundation to offer coaching advices to Indian and Australian fast bowlers.

Glenn McGrath is at the MRF Pace Foundation for a two-week seasonal camp that will see him guiding seamers from both India and Australia. Talking to the press on the first day of the camp, the Australian legend answered questions on a variety of subjects.

Asked about spin legend Anil Kumble’s appointment as the head coach of the Indian cricket team, McGrath replied, “I have not seen much of him as a coach but Anil has been around a lot. He has been a fighter as a cricketer. I guess he will bring the same attitude to his coaching.”

The bowling legend also expressed belief in bowlers’ ability to be successful as coaches. “There is no reason why a bowler cannot be a good coach. Jason Gillespie has been doing a fine job,” said McGrath.

India will travel to West Indies soon and McGrath believes the team from the sub-continent will have no difficulty adapting to the Caribbean pitches. “The pitches in the West Indies are not very different from those in India these days. The Indians should not have difficulties in adapting,” he said.

McGrath felt the pitches across the world were losing their character. “They are so similar. In Australia, the wickets at each Test centre used to behave in a certain way. That is no longer the case. This is one of the reasons Australia is not as good as it was away from home.”

Talking about West Indies cricket, McGrath said, “The West Indies have been winners in the Under-19 World Cup and the ICC men and women’s World Twenty20. The ability is there. But West Indies cricket has been affected by a lot of other issues. A strong West Indian team is good for world cricket.”

McGrath was disappointed that fast bowler Varun Aaron has been left out of the Indian team for the tour of the West Indies. “Varun is a quality bowler. He has pace, hostility and should be a part of the Indian team. Veer Pratap Singh, Ankeet Rajput and Nathu Singh who have been under me at the MRF are also very good.”

> READ: Pacers Aniket Choudhary, Veer Pratap to get training in Australia

The Australian said young cricketers should not just be satisfied by an IPL contract and must aspire to play for the country. “Your skills will only take you so far. Your attitude will take you the rest of the way.”

He said, “Twenty20 cricket needs Test cricket. If you look at Virat Kohli, Joe Root, and A.B. de Villiers, they are technically so good and exceptional in all forms of the game.”

McGrath had doubts about the usefulness of the proposed two tier system for Test cricket. “In my entire career, I played only three Tests each against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh.”

Queried about day-night cricket and pink ball, McGrath said, “They have more work to do on the pink ball. I saw the day\night Test at Adelaide last season and there was a little too much advantage for bowlers.”

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