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'Quality matters, not quantity', says Kapil

In his first formal interaction with the media after being appointed national cricket coach, Kapil Dev said he would insist on quality of matches rather than quantity.

Interestingly, he also expressed reservation about the two-year-term given to him, saying a longer term would have given him more of a chance to focus on the team's problems and come up with enduring solutions.

"I have accepted the offer of the board, in the national interest, but I personally feel that it would have been much better had the board offered me a longer term as the national coach," said Kapil, to a packed house at Hotel Taj Mansingh. "I am here to answer all your questions in my capacity as the national coach. I would appeal to all the newsmen to kindly get the news from me, but don't look for a 'story'. Whatever I have to say is all on record and there is nothing called off the record. I believe in transparency. I hope I would have better coordination with the media in the days to come.

The legendary cricketer said the Indian team is good enough, but that there was a need to insist on quality tournments rather a tight schedule of masala matches in various countries. "I personally feel that the Indian A team should play more matches than the Indian national team. The senior team should only play in quality tournaments. There is no point in playing too many matches and not having good results. The people expect results, and that's what we should be looking for. I will take up this matter with the Board for Control of Cricket in India and I hope that they would see my point," Kapil, who clearly intends a proactive role for himself, said.

He said though players injury is the board's concern, he is definitely concerned about the injury rate. Saying that his goal was to see every member of the side 100 per cent fit, he added that he hoped the injury nagging Sachin Tendulkar would not have any major impact on the Indian captain's future.

"In recent months a number of Indian players have been in the injured list. This is one aspect which I as national coach would have to address myself to. The problem of Sachin Tendulkar is the problem of the Board. They should take care of his injury problems. I am here to look after the Indian team once the responsibility is finally handed over to me officially in a couple of days from now. Once I take over as coach of the Indian cricket team officially, I will be in a better position to answer all your queries regarding injuries to individual players as well. I will probably see all of you again soon," he told the media, another welcome change from previous coaches who couldn't be dragged to press conferences for love or money.

"I have wound up my golf and part of my business. I am going to give 200 per cent to the team as the national coach," he said when asked how he would reconcile the demands of the job to the pressures of his own varied interests.

He said that he has yet not had any detailed discussion with the board, and added that in all likelihood he would meet the board members in a week from now and sort out all formalities.

When asked if he would support India having cricket links with Pakistan, Kapil said that whatever he had said about playing Pakistan in the aftermath of Kargil was his personal opinion, and now that he has taken over as the national coach, "what the BCCI decides will hold".

"Whaterver I had said about not playing matches with the Pakistan cricket team was my personal opinion and it has no bearing on my new job as the national coach whatsoever. When I take over as the national coach, I would have to abide by the decisions of the BCCI," he elaborated.

When asked about Ajay Jadeja's possible place in the Test squad -- a natural enough question given the player's perceived proximity to Kapil -- he refused to give a direct answer, saying that he would not comment on a particular state or an individual.

"I have to look at the national team in its overall perspective," he said, while refusing also to go into the merits and demerits of individual players or to comment on the recent performance of the Indian cricket team.

"There is no point in dwelling on what happened in the past. Let us look ahead and plan to play quality matches and win them too," he explained.

When asked if he had any plans to revive Indian cricket, Kapil said that since he had been appointed as the national coach only a few hours back, he hardly had the time to think about a plan. "Last night at 8.30, I got a call from the BCCI and I was told about the offer (Interestingly, the board had announced the news by 4.30 in the evening, four hours before Kapil himself was told about it). I have now accepted the offer. Since then I have been spending time on winding up some of my affairs and ensuring that my businesses continue to run in my absence. I have a staff of thirty people who have to be looked after. I have now managed to do something in this respect. After I meet the Board officials next week, I will be able to start planning for the team in a more concrete fashion. But I do firmly believe that merely announcing a list of names does not constitute a team. You have got to look into the merits of the players before you decide whether someone should be there or not," Kapil said.

The former Indian Captain cut a cake to celebrate his appointment as the new coach, and said "This is for Romi and my daughter." He then took a bite, before distributing the cake to the assembled mediapersons.