"The first day of our coaching camp in Chennai in 1999, I decided practice would start at 7.30 am. We warmed up at the ground and when I looked back I saw all of them were gone. I thought they had gone to get their gear on. That's when Andew Kokinos [the team's physiotherapist at that time] told me they were gone for breakfast. That was the last time they had breakfast at the ground."
Bobby Simpson, who travelled with the Indian team as consultant coach during the 1999 World Cup, was describing his first day as consultant to the Indian team in an interview with rediff.com.
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Since then Indian cricket has regularly benefited from the advice of many outsiders, or consultants as we choose to call them.
Rodney Marsh was also appointed consultant to the Board of Control for Cricket in India. But his success, or the lack of it, remains a mystery.
Bruce Reid stepped in to help John Wright as the team's pace bowling consultant during India's tour of Australia and then returned for the ICC Champions Trophy as well.
Psychologist Sandy Gordon also assisted with the mental aspect of the game as did Frank Tyson and Ian Healy from time to time.
Of these gentlemen, Simpson and Reid were not afraid to speak their mind when required to.
Now, for the first time, the BCCI has turned to an Indian.
On a specific request by captain Sourav Ganguly, legendary batsman Sunil Gavaskar has been named consultant to the team. Without doubt, the accumulator of 10,122 runs and 34 Test centuries certainly knows how to speak his mind as well.
His appointment though came just a day before the start of the first Test against Australia and it will be tough for him to get into the thick of matters immediately.
"One day before the Test it is, of course, tough," said Gavaskar.
But India's greatest ever opener is well respected by the Indian team for his tactical acumen and will be paying attention to every detail.
"Wright is the coach and he knows what he is doing. I am not interested in a conflict with the team management. I am here to look at specific points and let the team know at the end of day," he said.
In 1994, in Sharjah, Gavaskar took over as the team manager when former India captain Ajit Wadekar took ill during the tour. But his role this time round is different and "will evolve over a period of time".
Gavaskar spent a lot of time talking to John Wright on Tuesday before moving on to chat with Ganguly.
"The details of what we discussed are for the team management only. It is, after all, for the best of Indian cricket," he said.
Though only time will tell whether the move will be successful, it would have made more sense had the BCCI made the appointment a week earlier, when the practice match between India 'A' and India Seniors was held in Bangalore. Gavaskar would have had a good opportunity to take stock of the country's up-and-coming talent as well.
But then, the BCCI is known to wake up late.
