Ricky Ponting today said the Indian cricket selectors can take a leaf out of their
Australian counterparts' book while managing the transition of players in the
team.
"I think the Australian selectors handled it very well. Whenever there was
a group of players of the same age on the verge of retirement, they brought on
youngsters regularly," the twice World Cup winning Aussie skipper
said.
"I think it would leave a big hole if the likes of Sachin
Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble leave the game at
the same time." Ponting sought to demystify the aura about Australian coaches,
saying the critical acclaim they enjoyed should be put down to the stupendous
success of the champion team itself.
"If the national side hadn't been playing as well as it had been doing
over the past few years, I don't think Australian coaches would have been much
sought after," he said at a promotional funtion here.
Ponting, who led Australia to their fourth World Cup triumph
in the Caribbean earlier this year, believed "a coach is as good as the
team" he worked with.
He did not think that the coach needed to be a magician either.
Citing the example of former coach John Buchanan, Ponting
said, "he helped me as a player and as a captain. And he did all that without
ever having played Test cricket. A coach doesn't need to be a superstar."
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