Gary Kirsten lifts lid on how he landed Team India job in 2008

Former South Africa batting great Gary Kirsten has spoken about the bizarre turn of events that led to him becoming the coach of Team India in 2008 Kirsten wrote his name in Indian cricketing folklore as he masterminded their historic World Cup victory at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai in 2011The former South Africa opener spoke about an email sent from former India opener and then member of the coach selection committee Sunil Gavaskar which had set the ball rollingIve got an email from Sunil Gavaskar ndash would I consider coaching the Indian team Kirsten said during Cricket Collective podcast on SpotifyI thought it was a hoax I never even answer it He sent me another email and said Will you come for an interview I showed it to the wife and she said They must have the wrong person So it was a bizarre entry into the whole thing and rightly so I mean I had no coaching experience or anythingAnyway I went for the interview it was a bizarre experience in many ways because I kinda arrived at the interview and I see Anil Kumble whos the current Indian captain and he says What are you doing here I said I have come for an interview to coach you So we kinda laugh about it It was quite a laughing matter he addedKisten then revealed intriguing details of what panned out during the entire process He also spoke about how illprepared he was for the interview as everything happened on such a short notice and how former India cricketer and then member of the committee Ravi Shastri came to his rescueTen minutes later I am in this board meeting with these BCCI officials and it was quite an intimidating environment the secretary of the board said Mr Kirsten would you like to present your vision for the future of Indian cricket and I said Well I dont have one No one had asked me to prepare anything for it I had just arrived there Kirsten revealedRavi Shastri who was on the committee said to me Gary tell us what did you guys as the South African team do to beat the Indians I thought it was a great icebreaker because I could answer it and I answered it in about twothree minutes without saying strategies that we kind of probably use to this dayKirsten then revealed another anecdote from the entire episode that also involved Greg ChappellHe was suitably impressed as was the rest of the board because three minutes later ndash I had been in in the interview about seven minutes ndash the secretary of the board slides across a contract to me I pick up the contract and the first page I am looking for my name frantically and I cant see my name but I see Greg Chappells name who was the previous coach he saidSo I slide the contract back and I say Sir I think you have given me your previous coachs contract He kind of looks at it a little bit perturbed and takes out a pen from his pocket scratches out his Chappell name and writes my name on itThen slides the contract back So now I have my name on the contract The beautiful thing about that was I didnt have a clue what I should be paid But then obviously with Chappells package there I thought Well let me just keep it the same I am happy with what he was getting paid That was itKirsten was handed an initial twoyear deal from March 1 2008 He was then handed over a oneyear contract extension that saw him lead India to their second World Cup title Under his stewardship India also took over the numero uno spot in Tests in 2009Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates hereAlso download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest newsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever