Have IPL franchises been spending on coaches cluelessly

The heady blend of Bollywood and cricket - two quintessential drugs Indians have been addicted to since its independence - and the blueprint of the Indian Premier League reeked of success from the very moment it was placed on the table. Eleven years down the line and the craze has only increased with players today earning more than they could possibly have imagined a decade back. 

However, while India have overcome the apprehension of the emergence of young talents throughout the tournament, a concern Women’s IPL is facing today, it is the next important part that BCCI has failed to address - the mentors. The quality of coaches that franchises have had in IPL over the years, it would seem as if they pay no heed towards to their mentors. With the astronomical figures that the players earn over those two months of IPL, coaches were also widely assumed to get a hefty sum, but when their respective salaries were recently revealed in TOI, it did raise a few eyebrows.

Vettori earning over 4 crores for just a two-month stint would seem frivolous to anyone given how terrible he has been as a coach for RCB. Same could be said about Sehwag who, as many would agree, isn’t a prime candidate for coaching even at the state level. But, such has been the state of so-called mentors and coaches in T20 cricket that franchises are sitting helpless. Not only RCB but England’s Middlesex, Big Bash League’s Brisbane Heats, and Bangladesh Premier League’s Rajshahi Kings have also been deceived by his studious looks and rich cricketing pedigree. 

Whether science, with its permutation and combination, probabilities and complex calculation, plays a crucial part in sports has been a debate for ages, but, as far as T20 is concerned, the shortest format has left a huge gap for it to play a role in determining the outcome. It is T20’s spontaneity that that makes the scenarios easier to envision.

“T20 is such a fast game that it needs snap thinking on the field. In Test cricket you come off at lunch, you talk to the players. You have to be a lot more precise [in T20] because you have no time to make adjustments. In Test matches you assess by sessions; in one-day cricket you assess by overs; in T20 cricket now you assess by balls. Every ball is an event," Phil Simmons explained, who was the head coach of Windies when they lifted the 2016 World T20.

While the pattern IPL sides have followed over the last few years makes it difficult to read the coaching patterns KKR definitely stands out as an example. Teams like CSK, SRH and MI, who finished in the playoffs frequently and reached the final most times have largely stuck to a large chunk of their core players as opposed to KKR, who have never shied away from revamping the team and still remained successful. 

One look at their managerial structure and one realizes that CEO Venky Mysore plays a huge role. It was he who had first brought big data to the club and has since been responsible for the club’s brilliant metamorphosis from just a participant to a regular contender for the league. From the conventional likes of John Buchanan and Dav Whatmore, KKR have come a long way with the likes of Trevor Bayliss and Jacques Kallis, getting in help from the likes of Wasim Akram earlier and now Heath Streak for the specifics. While it is true that it is not the most ideal of structures that other sides could follow, KKR are definitely the next step in terms of guiding the side irrespective of the volatile squad.