SUDDENLY we have Gary Kirsten disowning everything and acting coy. Suddenly we have Gary Kirsten playing innocent like nobody’s business. But the point is, does Gary have anything to feel guilty about in the first place?
Gary is getting support from every quarter he can muster. South African coach Mickey Arthur has written in his column in the same paper in which the leaked document first appeared (HT): “cheap, tabloid journalists who twist innocent stories to create sensation” and calls it a “ridiculous scandal about Gary Kirsten, who I have known for a very long time”.
If I’m not wrong, Mickey Arthur is supposed to be writing a column on the Champions Trophy and not canvassing for Kirsten. It is a syndicated column done by Javagal Srinath and some people in the media know who ghost writes the column for Mickey (it’s Neil Manthrop).
Manthrop, the Cape Town based South African journalist is also very close to Kirsten, having helped him with his autobiography and all that sort of thing.
So Arthur (or rather Manthrop) uses the same paper to castigate the reporter who got hold of the dossier and had the audacity to publish it verbatim. Arthur, in his column, also goes on to say that it is an eight-month old dossier and all that. But the point is, neither Kirsten nor Arthur have denied the existence of the said document. The four-page document exists. And nobody had written about it before.
Like any good reporter, the HT reporter in question, when he got his hands on the said document, reported the story and published the document. Great job done!
So why is Kirsten, Arthur, Manthrop – why are they all crying foul? Why is it cheap, tabloid journalism? Far from it. It is good, solid reporting.
The fact of the matter is that neither Gary, nor Upton (nor for that matter, Manthrop or Arthur) had ever imagined the leaked document to create the kind of furore that it did. But once the overwhelming reactions were out, Kirsten simply wanted to wash his hands off the whole thing and put the entire blame onto Upton (who perhaps leaked the document in the first place).
Let’s just recount everything that Gary is now saying. Paddy Upton, the mental conditioning coach of the Indian team, compiled the four-page document and circulated it among the members of the Indian team. Gary didn’t have anything to do with it at all. He just saw it for the first time a couple of days ago. And so on.
Well, some people are naïve some of the time. But all and sundry are not so naïve as to believe that Upton compiled the document (entirely on his own) and circulated it within the team and did not consult Gary at all. Of course, both Gary and Upton knew about it (perhaps both compiled it together). Nothing wrong with that.
Some self-styled experts are pontificating that Gary should not show the temerity to remind us about our history – about the lack of our aggression as a race and so on. Because such a move is fraught with danger. It is exactly this kind of skewed reaction that Gary is scared of. The job of the coach of the Indian team is too dear to him – as it should be, considering the money and glamour and profile that goes with it – and Gary (like any other smart cookie in his place) does not want to jeopardise his position.
But the fact is that on many counts the document is not incorrect. History suggests that we have never been a very aggressive race and that sex was, is, and will remain an esoteric entity in this part of the world. But all this is not important. At best, these are just debating points providing an opportunity to hoary so-called experts to raise cain.
The most important thing is – IT IS GARY’S TEAM. He has been appointed the coach. He is getting the money and the perks. The team’s performance is his responsibility. He is answerable for their poor showing. So, he has every right to use analysis, diagrams, stats, documents and dossiers to motivate and galvanise the team. He can even use similies, metaphors and historical inferences to illustrate his points. If the pundits and the board officials feel that it is blasphemous to have Kirtsen as the coach, then they should go for another professional.
But as long as Kirsten is the coach (or for that matter anyone else is the coach), he should be allowed to motivate his team without the fear of pundits.
So, should Gary be brave enough (or foolhardy enough in this case) to own up and say that yes, both he and Upton wrote that document? Because that is the truth. But here, if Gary were to own up, then the self-styled experts will lambast him. And, it is quite likely, that he will also end up losing his lucrative job. So, Gary has to act all coy and innocent and wash his hands off the four-page document. And put the whole blame on Paddy Upton instead. Carry on Gary. Some of us understand your predicament.
