IND vs SA | Want my team to back themselves and show courage, says coach Enoch Nkwe
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After a hammering at the hands of India in Vizag, Proteas coach Enoch Nkwe wants to imbibe the ideals of the legendary football manager Pep Guardiola in his team to lift them from this setback. He wants his team to be innovative and courageous while tackling difficult situations on the field.
After the retirement of big guns AB de Villiers, Dale Steyn and Hashim Amla, coach Nkwe and skipper du Plessis have pleaded for patience from supporters as the team goes through its transition period. This comes after a humiliating 203-run defeat at the hands of a flamboyant Indian team.
Now, 36-year-old Nkwe wants to follow Guardiola’s innovative style to develop a brave team that could face dire situations with optimism and tackle it with courage, but admits that it will take time. Â
“What I want is this team to have the courage, in certain situations, to relay back themselves. I suppose that every coach that comes in has a different philosophy,” Nkwe said while talking to TOI.
The interim coach does not have much experience but impressed the Cricket South Africa board by winning the four-day and T20 domestic trophies with an underrated Highveld Lions in a single year. Nkwe wants South Africa to control sessions for a longer period both with the bat and ball by thinking on the feet all the time.Â
Nkwe said that he dreamt of making a difference in people’s lives and feels that now he can finally fulfil it. He also struck resemblance with Guardiola’s knack for improving systems and believes that his love for cricket, similar to the title laden manager’s passion for football, will drive him to do so.Â
“I will keep driving forward to ensure that the team keeps growing, keeps believing in themselves that they can achieve greater heights. My biggest focus is to help this team create a strong foundation. We have a lot of work behind the scenes that this team grows in the next four years,” the 36-year-old said.Â
After such a crushing defeat, it will be interesting how the Proteas come back in the remaining two matches of the series. It is something coach Nkwe, who thinks that these challenges will change the players for good, will be looking forward to. With the next Test starting on Thursday, the coach has quite a lot of holes to fill.Â
“Ultimately it's about the big picture and we need to be patient with players that might take a bit of time to produce the type of performance we are looking forward to.”
“And this is a great place to see that. What sort of character of the team we have and what sort of areas we need to really look at and look to rectify as quickly as possible,” Nkwe signed off.Â
