I'm not going to be a coach who panics too much: Kallis

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There’s a new coach in town. Just a few months back, Jacques Kallis was still doing what he had done over the last two decades with extraordinary success: playing cricket – this for Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash League.

The South African legend followed it up with a stint for the Libra Legends in the Masters Champions League in the United Arab Emirates – where he was the costliest player. And now he has donned a new avatar –one he says he never expected to: the role of a head coach for Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League.

That’s quite a quick transition between two important and different roles. It wasn’t something Kallis was expecting, but just like his batting, the progress has been smooth.

In fact, according to Kallis, the fact that he has played until so recently has been an advantage.
“Yes it's been nice. I nearly got to a point where I just didn't want to play anymore and didn't enjoy playing,” he tells Wisden India. “Coaching was never something I really thought I'll get into. But as a senior player you are passing on your knowledge to the younger guys and helping them and doing a part of coaching even when you're playing. I enjoyed that part of it.

“I think it does (help to have played so recently). The game has changed so much especially in the last two or three years. So I have a rough idea what the guys are up to and how they go about their business. It does give you a little bit of advantage, so hopefully that plays into our hands.”

Kallis is no stranger to the Kolkata side. He has been a part of the unit since 2011, playing a massive role as an allrounder in their two championship victories in 2012 and 2014. His contributions were so valued that Kolkata made him their batting consultant and mentor last year.

It was this association that made Kallis ‘readily’ take up the opportunity to be Kolkata’s head coach following Trevor Bayliss’ resignation, at a time when he was still an active player.

“It makes a big difference that it’s KKR,” he says. “Last year I was a batting consultant, I know the set-up, know how things work and I'm certainly not going to change too much. There is an old saying - if it isn't broke, why fix it? That's certainly the case here. I'm just trying to give the players an environment that they enjoy playing in, and perform.

“So when an opportunity came up, especially in this environment - it's a great environment. I thought I'll definitely like to be a part of that and help KKR become even stronger than what we already are.”A key aspect of the ‘environment’ in the Kolkata side is that the power-centre gravitates towards the captain and nobody is above the team. Sample these words from Gautam Gambhir on Bayliss’ success: “A successful team makes a successful coach,” said Gambhir at the start of the season. “He’s only successful because people in the dressing room made him successful. I have the same point of view on captaincy as well.”

This can be easily misconstrued as being rude but most importantly for Kolkata, Kallis is happy to be the background man despite being a legend himself. The franchise has in the past had problems with striking that balance, when John Buchanan famously advocated a ‘multiple-captain’ strategy in 2009 – eventually Brendon McCullum led through the entire season – that created more trouble than success.

“I'm a big believer that the captain must run on the field the stuff on match-day,” says Kallis. “The coach has the influence up until the day of the game but on game day, it's the captain who decides who bowls when, who bats where. At the end of the day, he has to be comfortable as he's the one who is walking on the field with the team. So if there are any selection issues that are difficult to make, I'm happy to leave it to the captain because he's the one on the field.”

Starting a coaching career with a format as hectic and fluctuating as T20 is probably difficult, especially if you were a player associated with the longer formats and known for correctness. These are early days in Kallis’s coaching career, but by all evidence, his style of coaching is just an extension of his on-field persona – keep calm and never panic.
He likes doing one-on-ones, and according to Manish Pandey, he hardly talks but gives some invaluable inputs.

“I was fortunate enough to have a lot of good coaches along the way,” says Kallis. “When I was a youngster, my dad was a very good coach and then I had Duncan Fletcher and Bob Woolmer. That's three of the best coaches you're ever going to get. Those days when I was young, you had to work on technical stuff so I had pretty technical coaches but also had a little bit of modern way of coaching and man management.
“I'm pretty chilled and relaxed. I think the modern way of coaching is more about creating an environment for the player to perform, man management, treating each player differently knowing what their needs are and trying to give them what they require whether it's on or off the field. I was a pretty relaxed player and coach. Hopefully players can feed off that energy - I'm not going to be one who is seen as panicking too much. I also know what the players want to hear, when they need to hear it and when you have to put the foot down. So hopefully I can get those things right.”

“Coaching is personality based. But there is a big change in the way coaches coach. It certainly isn't the school teacher way of yesteryear. It's certainly evolving and has evolved. The best coaches these days are the ones that understand that and move ahead with time.” Move ahead with time is something he certainly did. Kallis adapted to become a fairly successful T20 cricketer and is now adapting to his new role.

While being calm, relaxed and chill take care of the mental aspect of coaching, a major part of Kallis’s new role involves dealing with new techniques – the scoops, paddles, switch-hits and so on. Not something Kallis was associated with as a player, but the Kolkata coach feels that will be no deterrent.

“I don't think I’ve had to change my personality,” he says. “I think it's important that you carry on being the person you are whether you're a player or coach. As soon as you start stepping out of that, you perhaps go a little out of your comfort zone and that comes across as false. I don't think I've changed personally.

“Techniques have changed a lot. The game is definitely not as technical anymore as it used to be. It's a lot more free and feel. There's still a few basics that you need to have and work on, that's far more important than the textbook style of batting. It's about taking each individual batter and using what they have got, giving him the best option that they have got with their techniques. Weight transfer is probably the most important thing. If you can figure ways to maintain the weight transfer you can always work on the rest.

“Coaching is personality based. But there is a big change in the way coaches coach. It certainly isn't the school teacher way of yesteryear. It's certainly evolving and has evolved. The best coaches these days are the ones that understand that and move ahead with time.”

Move ahead with time is something he certainly did. Kallis adapted to become a fairly successful T20 cricketer and is now adapting to his new role. Next step – coaching an international side?
“I retired from international cricket to spend more time at home. So it certainly wouldn't be now,” he smiled. “We'll see how things go. There is an old saying - never say never. So I'm going to say never say never!”

I'm not going to be a coach who panics too much: Kallis
 
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