CHENNAI: At a time when most who have worn the colours (or white slacks) of the Indian cricket team are distancing themselves from the team, courtesy the whitewash in Australia, former Indian wicket-keeper Farokh Engineer, has a different idea. “I’d simply love to coach this current Indian team, because I think that they’re the best chaps that we have had in a while,” he says crisply. Speaking exclusively to City Express, Engineer does not soft pedal around the fact that they have lost eight Test matches, overseas. “It’s the matter of motivation that’s missing right now. Set that right and we’ll be good to go,” he says and adds, “Oh yeah, and there’s this business of learning to handle short balls too!” Personally, he loved short-pitched stuff during his playing years, he reminisces.Candid and curt as ever, the Manchester-based Engineer says that he is disappointed with what new Team India coach Duncan Fletcher has brought. “I really don’t know what he’s doing. Honestly, at this level, you don’t even need coaches. They’re such great players all you need to do is some fielding practice, a nip here, a tuck there, you know?” he says. “Somehow, there’s still this post-Raj hangover that makes people believe that foreign coaches are much better,” he adds, with a hint of distaste. India’s first choice keeper between 1961 and 1975, Engineer has an entirely different vision for Team India. “I believe we need a core group of mentors, made of ex-Indian cricketers to hone the team. With people like Kapil (Dev) at your disposal, there’s not much else you can ask for,” he says.Reflecting on Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s announcement that he would relinquish Test captaincy if (the Board) found a suitable replacement, Engineer says, “I’d love to see a lot more of him, because I think he’s a really good cricketer. He doesn’t have great technique as a batsman or a wicket-keeper, but that raw power that he’s holding back...He needs to use that more.” Though he walked out of a test match that India botched up on their England tour, he still believes that the future is in safe hands. “Ashwin is a face for the future, just like Raina and Kohli, “ he says. He turns the debate over the fate of the ‘Big 3’, “I feel that Laxman might have to call it a day first.”For a man who’s on the verge of turing 74, Engineer is sprightly enough to conduct a coaching camp in Chennai now. “I have great memories of Chepauk and the MAC. I made my fastest hundred (off 46 balls) right here in Madras,” he says and confesses that this place will always be ‘Madras’ to him, despite what the government says. “I’m really looking forward to getting together with Dennis (Lillee), an old foe but a dear friend, and grabbing a beer at the MCC pavillion,” he adds. Cheers to that.The Dosa lover:Though he’s a Parsi by birth, Engineer reveals that he’s crazy about masala dosas. And even while he’s getting down to a crisp dosa in England, he makes it a point to eat only with his fingers. A habit that he picked up here, according to him. “I may be living in England now,” he proclaims, “But mere dil ki desh Hindustani, y’know?”
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