Ray Jennings, the Bangalore Royal Challengers coach, says he has yet to decide who will captain the embattled franchise once Kevin Pietersen departs for England after Wednesday's match against Kolkata. Jennings' comments come as a major surprise, given Bangalore had previously nominated South African Jacques Kallis to take over from Pietersen when the England batsman returns for the Test series against West Indies.
"It is still open," Jennings said. "I need to sit down and discuss with the management what we need to do."
After four successive defeats, Bangalore are a team in distress. Kallis, their original captain-in-waiting, has managed 101 runs from four matches with the bat, and just a solitary wicket with the ball. The South African all-rounder could well be suffering from battling fatigue after hard-fought home-and-away series against Australia immediately before the IPL, and Jennings now appears to be hedging his bets on the captaincy issue in the event Kallis loses his place in the Bangalore starting XI.
"If Jacques plays, obviously he might be captain," Jennings said. "But if he doesn't play we have other guys like [Mark] Boucher, [Anil] Kumble and even [Rahul] Dravid (when he comes back) who are capable of leading the team. Obviously, after Pietersen we have to look at the performance of the side and then see who is the best guy to lead the side."
After finishing seventh in 2008, Bangalore got off to a bright start in the IPL's second season, inflicting a 75-run defeat on the defending champions, Rajasthan Royals (whose 58 is the lowest score of the tournament till date). But Pietersen's team has failed to carry forward the momentum and now finds itself on the slide. Jennings believes much of the fault for their run of defeats lies with themselves, rather than their opposition. "I'm disappointed with the results like everybody else from Bangalore," Jennings said. "I'm disappointed in the performance of some of the players.
"I don't think too many players have risen to the occasion in one game. That goes to everybody. There are not too many players who have walked away with results that would make an impact on the field.
"Our fielding has not been upto the scratch and we haven't done well both with the ball and bat in the first and the last six overs."
Jennings, a former South African coach, has always been frank when expressing his views, even if at the risk of unpopularity. When discussing the franchise's recent fielding lapses, Jenning was not afraid to single players out by name. "Robin Uthappa and Rahul Dravid dropping catches in the last few games….if opportunities like that are not grabbed then it will not make a difference in the eventual result", Jennings said.
As underwhelming as many of his players have been, Jennings concedes he may have erred with some of his strategies. But players, he insists, are those who ultimately determine the course of a match. "As a coach you practice during training but when the moment arrives you rely on the skills of the players to execute," he said. "So you can't point the fingers at the coach, because you are actually buying a player for his skills."
With the exception of Dravid, who has emerged as a consistent presence in the middle order, few of the Bangalore batsmen have been able to build innings and dominate the opposition bowling. While other teams have displayed batting cohesion, Bangalore have found it hard to cobble together partnerships among the top- and middle-order batsmen, which has eroded any chance of compiling formidable totals. . "You can try a number of players in a strategy but you would expect at least one or two guys coming to the party if the strategy is to take off," Jennings said. "When you look at the performance of our top order only Jacques Kallis has hit a fifty. I would think in 20-over cricket your top four will have to do something. And our top four haven't executed the strategy we have discussed, which are the best at the time. But they (strategies) are not working."
Asked if he would consider shuffling the batting order, Jennings was hesitant. "You can say to me Dravid has batted so well at five so why not bat him in the top four, but I would respond: since he has been successful as No. 5, why promote him," he said. "You see the positions at which Jesse Ryder, Ross Taylor, Kevin Pietersen and Robin Uthappa are playing now have been part of strategies that have worked before during their tenure in international cricket. The decisions I have made are the right cricketing decisions. "
Despite Bangalore's struggles, Jennings said he felt no pressure from his bosses. Last year, Bangalore sacked Charu Sharma from the CEO's post midway into the campaign after the team had managed only two wins in seven game. "I'm in contact with the management. I spoke [Vijay] Mallya three days ago. They are coming up with ideas, which I need to respond to and consider if they can be put into action. There may not be performances on the board but from my point of view I'm totally committed. I'm not in a position to comment if they will be patient this time. In cricket issues arise and it depends on how you handle them."
Jennings is positive about the road ahead. "Sport is funny - even if we have lost the last four we can win the next nine. To me there is no way I can say the tournament is finished. The tournament is finished when it is finished. You got to stay positive and continue to believe that you made the right call on the day."
"It is still open," Jennings said. "I need to sit down and discuss with the management what we need to do."
After four successive defeats, Bangalore are a team in distress. Kallis, their original captain-in-waiting, has managed 101 runs from four matches with the bat, and just a solitary wicket with the ball. The South African all-rounder could well be suffering from battling fatigue after hard-fought home-and-away series against Australia immediately before the IPL, and Jennings now appears to be hedging his bets on the captaincy issue in the event Kallis loses his place in the Bangalore starting XI.
"If Jacques plays, obviously he might be captain," Jennings said. "But if he doesn't play we have other guys like [Mark] Boucher, [Anil] Kumble and even [Rahul] Dravid (when he comes back) who are capable of leading the team. Obviously, after Pietersen we have to look at the performance of the side and then see who is the best guy to lead the side."
After finishing seventh in 2008, Bangalore got off to a bright start in the IPL's second season, inflicting a 75-run defeat on the defending champions, Rajasthan Royals (whose 58 is the lowest score of the tournament till date). But Pietersen's team has failed to carry forward the momentum and now finds itself on the slide. Jennings believes much of the fault for their run of defeats lies with themselves, rather than their opposition. "I'm disappointed with the results like everybody else from Bangalore," Jennings said. "I'm disappointed in the performance of some of the players.
"I don't think too many players have risen to the occasion in one game. That goes to everybody. There are not too many players who have walked away with results that would make an impact on the field.
"Our fielding has not been upto the scratch and we haven't done well both with the ball and bat in the first and the last six overs."
Jennings, a former South African coach, has always been frank when expressing his views, even if at the risk of unpopularity. When discussing the franchise's recent fielding lapses, Jenning was not afraid to single players out by name. "Robin Uthappa and Rahul Dravid dropping catches in the last few games….if opportunities like that are not grabbed then it will not make a difference in the eventual result", Jennings said.
As underwhelming as many of his players have been, Jennings concedes he may have erred with some of his strategies. But players, he insists, are those who ultimately determine the course of a match. "As a coach you practice during training but when the moment arrives you rely on the skills of the players to execute," he said. "So you can't point the fingers at the coach, because you are actually buying a player for his skills."
With the exception of Dravid, who has emerged as a consistent presence in the middle order, few of the Bangalore batsmen have been able to build innings and dominate the opposition bowling. While other teams have displayed batting cohesion, Bangalore have found it hard to cobble together partnerships among the top- and middle-order batsmen, which has eroded any chance of compiling formidable totals. . "You can try a number of players in a strategy but you would expect at least one or two guys coming to the party if the strategy is to take off," Jennings said. "When you look at the performance of our top order only Jacques Kallis has hit a fifty. I would think in 20-over cricket your top four will have to do something. And our top four haven't executed the strategy we have discussed, which are the best at the time. But they (strategies) are not working."
Asked if he would consider shuffling the batting order, Jennings was hesitant. "You can say to me Dravid has batted so well at five so why not bat him in the top four, but I would respond: since he has been successful as No. 5, why promote him," he said. "You see the positions at which Jesse Ryder, Ross Taylor, Kevin Pietersen and Robin Uthappa are playing now have been part of strategies that have worked before during their tenure in international cricket. The decisions I have made are the right cricketing decisions. "
Despite Bangalore's struggles, Jennings said he felt no pressure from his bosses. Last year, Bangalore sacked Charu Sharma from the CEO's post midway into the campaign after the team had managed only two wins in seven game. "I'm in contact with the management. I spoke [Vijay] Mallya three days ago. They are coming up with ideas, which I need to respond to and consider if they can be put into action. There may not be performances on the board but from my point of view I'm totally committed. I'm not in a position to comment if they will be patient this time. In cricket issues arise and it depends on how you handle them."
Jennings is positive about the road ahead. "Sport is funny - even if we have lost the last four we can win the next nine. To me there is no way I can say the tournament is finished. The tournament is finished when it is finished. You got to stay positive and continue to believe that you made the right call on the day."
