A T20 coach should be like a football manager: John Buchanan

John Buchanan has overseen an era of Australian cricket that dominated world cricket like very few teams have. As a coach of the Kolkata Knight Riders in formative years of IPL, he has seen the transition of cricket. Now, he is back as a coach in the Legends League Cricket.

He spoke to TOI on the importance of a coach's role in T20 cricket, handling superstars and managing the resource pool. Excerpts: How much has T20 cricket changed coaching?In short-duration games like football, the coach has a right to make an impact on a game by making substitutions. I do believe that's where the T20 game should move.

Coach, in T20s, should be like a football manager on the sidelines. That's why I think rather than having a playing XI, you should have 15 nominated players. Not one player can remember all the set of players and the strategies whereas the coach sitting off the field can have access to the overall picture of the game.

Challenges of coaching a team full of superstars...Coaching any team at different times is difficult because you are dealing with human beings. They are in different stages of their lives, career and even on a tour. There are things going off the field.

The coach's role with the superstar is to smooth out the ride for them because it could be a roller coaster. If the superstar trusts the coach it becomes easy. That's why Rahul Dravid is a good choice as a coach because he is a very calm, level-headed and highly experienced player.

Challenges of a modern-day coach...What made life a lot simpler in those days when I coached Australia was that there was very little social media. Modern-day coaches have more focus on them. They have to be physically and mentally prepared.