Former Indian head coach Gary Kristen has recently revealed some interesting tales from the year 2007 when he joined Team India as head coach. While Team India is currently owning the world cricket with their remarkable performances, the year 2007 was a year to forget for Men in Blue. The shocking exit from the ODI World Cup 2007 was one of the scars which remained etched in the history of Indian cricket.
In his recent interaction at ‘The Final Word Cricket Podcast,’ Kristen revealed that master blaster Sachin Tendulkar was not happy at the time he joined the team and wanted to retire from the game.
“Sachin was probably a standout for me because he was deeply unhappy at the time that I joined the team. He felt he had a lot to offer, but he wasn’t enjoying his cricket and he was at a time in his career when he felt may he should retire. It was important for me to connect with him and make him feel that he should retire. It was important for me to connect with him and make him feel that he had a massive contribution to make to the team and his contribution was more than what he needed to do,” Mr. Kristen said.
He further claimed that he was eager to find good leadership for the team which could take the team forward and makes it into a ‘world-beating team.’
“When I took over there was definitely a lot of scaring in the team. There was a lot of unhappiness and hence for me, it was more important to understand each individual and where they felt they fit in the team. There was a lot of unhappiness and hence for me, it was more important to understand each individual,” added Kristen.