03 April,2009 05:11 PM IST | | PTI
Despite seven of the eight IPL franchises opting for foreign coaches, Sourav Ganguly reckons that Indian coaches have the credentials to do a good job and foresees a bigger contribution from them in future editions.
"I feel Indian coaches are good enough and they should have an equal role to play as the overseas coaches in the IPL," Ganguly said.
Currently, only Mumbai Indians have Praveen Amre as their coach while all other teams are guided by those from overseas such as John Buchanan, Shane Warne, Tom Moody and Greg Shippered.
"I know most of the teams have overseas coaches, and sometimes I don't know what's the reason for it, but I'm sure someone like Lalchand Rajput, he's been a part of a Twenty20 World Cup winning team, and so he can do a good job," Ganguly told NDTV.
"I think a time will come when there will be a mixture of both, but the important thing is it should be judged completely on the basis of how good one is," he added.
But the former Indian captain also felt that the choice of coach should be based not only on the nationality but on how efficient the candidate is. "I think it should be judged completely on the basis of how good one is and not just on the basis of whether one is an Indian or from overseas," he said.
On shifting of the IPL out of India, Ganguly said it was not an issue but agreed the tournament would not be the same as it was in India last year.
"To be honest I'm looking forward to going to South Africa. Obviously, let's be honest, it's not going to be the same as it's in Kolkata, because you know it's a Kolkata Knight Riders team. You know how it is in Kolkata with the IPL games on, 1,00,000 people, it's a completely different atmosphere here.
"But then, I'm sure South Africa is going to be good, it's not going to be the same level as Kolkata but at least the IPL will happen," he said.
On his retirement age, Ganguly said he would take a call after his three-year contract with the IPL finishes.
"I think I've got another two years with the Knight Riders and I think I'll have to take a call after that.
"Obviously, I've retired from international cricket and I've got no intentions of playing it again. So I think it's another two years and then obviously life will be different," he said.
Elaborating on his life beyond cricket, Ganguly said "I'm building schools... education schools from pre-primary to college. I get lot of satisfaction in doing it.
"Hopefully, those two properties will be up and running and it will take a lot of time in running it. I'll do it personally, and obviously I've got my family, we've got a business of our own. So there are quite a few things to look after," he said.
