The coaching conundrum
The coaching conundrum
The event by itself -- Shane Jurgensen's tenure as Bangladesh coach coming to an end with around a year left on his contract -- is not surprising. What is a bit of a surprise, however, is that despite Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan Papon hinting at 'wholesale changes' in the aftermath of Bangladesh's debacle in the World Twenty20, it was Jurgensen who made the decision to bite the bullet and send the BCB his letter of resignation yesterday.
That makes it three high profile exits from the hot seat in three years after Stuart Law's departure in May 2012 and the fiasco that was Richard Pybus's tenure, which ended in October of the same year.
Thereafter Jurgensen -- offered a contract till the end of the 2015 World Cup in June 2013 -- presided over a period of relative stability. While the circumstances of his decision are yet to come fully to light -- perhaps he wanted to walk before being pushed -- his tenure reveals a lot about the travails of coaching this team and the pitfalls that dot the team's path towards genuine growth.
BACKWATER BLUES
Perhaps it is a function of Bangladesh's modest potential for performance or the country's status as a third-world nation, or a combination of both, but the position of Bangladesh's head cricket coach has not exactly attracted top coaches in recent times. When they did come, the likes of Law left before time citing family commitments, while someone like Pybus could not reach an agreement on vacation arrangements and did not sign a contract during his five-month stint.
A little embarrassingly, no one replied to BCB's call for a head coach and Jurgensen, the then bowling coach, was given the job. He was massively different from his two predecessors in that he seemed to enjoy staying in Bangladesh. More importantly he presided over a period of relative success till the end of 2013.
WAS SHANE THE RIGHT MAN?
A fondness for the country should not be the major criterion in judging a coach. 2014's horrid performances raise the question of whether Jurgensen was in fact the right man to lead the Tigers to Australia and New Zealand for the 2015 World Cup.
Till the end of last year, across formats he was in charge in 27 matches and Bangladesh won 10, lost 13 and drew three Test matches -- a massive step up from the usual. 2014 heralded a sharp dip as in 18 more games the team won only two. Even so, his record is better than the overall percentage (a win/loss ratio of 0.42 as opposed to 0.31 overall). Put together with his rare willingness to be a part of the Bangladeshi culture, his departure seems a crippling loss, especially if Bangladesh do not get an adequate replacement soon.
But the team's poor showing this year brought to the surface some long-standing qualms about his coaching style, namely his alleged soft touch with players. Bangladesh's performance this year has been marked by a distinct lack of discipline and a failure to follow team plans. It is now held among the cognoscenti that Jurgensen lacked the necessary commanding voice to bring ill-disciplined elements into line. If that is indeed the case, the bigger question is: was Jurgensen, a proven coach, given enough backing by the board to wield the whip when necessary?
The onus, at the end -- considering that three head coaches have left in three years -- has to fall on the board. If it is a challenge to land a high profile coach, the bigger challenge will be for the BCB to provide an environment in which a future coach can build a team and a sustainable cricketing culture, something that may attract men with vision to stay on.