Re: Gary Kirsten: New Indian Coach?
How time flies…The same Gary Kirsten made the following observations about India in his 1996-1997 Tour Diary.
But I guess 300,000 USD /YR would take care of any such discomfort he may face again in India.
EXCERPTS FROM KIRSTEN’S 1996-97 INDIA TOUR DIARY
Sixty-two days in a country where westernised living conditions are regarded a luxury is no task for the faint-hearted.
To spread cricket to all corners of India, we played in what could politely be classed as one-horse towns, places with more cows on the street than cars.
I’ll never forget arriving in Rajkot — laughter broke out in the bus when we were told we had reached our hotel, yet there didn’t seem to be one in sight. It was actually above another building… A sense of humour is a necessity on this tour.
Travelling was an interesting experience: There was seldom a direct flight to our next destination… To expect teams to perform at consistently high levels when faced with such arrangements is absurd and unfair on the players, who are judged on every single performance.
Food is a major topic of conversation in India. In a westernised country, you survive on certain types of food which are virtually non-existent here.
We tried some of the local meat (in Ahmedabad) but when we were told it was water buffalo — we tended to stay away from red meat after that.
Socialising in India is pretty much hotel-bound — there are no real places to go out. It gets quite boring and tedious trying to occupy yourself — one of the rigours of touring India.
There are very few new cars, and most are dented and in bad shape. There’s no point in having a decent car in India because it will get wrecked in no time.
There are people sleeping on the streets, and acres and acres of slums and shack dwellings.
Published in the December 1996-January 1997 issue of SA Cricket Action.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1071128/asp/sports/story_8602052.asp
lol…good investigative work Some1…Based on these excerpts Gundappa Rangnath Viswanath not “Mr. Westernised” should be coaching india…and by the way Kirsten, SA is not exactly “westernised” either…