South African coach firm on leaving India after World Cup triumph His mission accomplished, Gary Kirsten is happy to go back home. The former South African opening batsman ruled out reconsidering his decision to quit as the Indian team coach in the wake of the World Cup triumph. <table style="width: 139px; height: 42px" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="139" align="right" border="1"> <tbody> <tr> <td><img alt="" src="/imagedata/2011/apr/kirst.jpg" border="0" /></td></tr> <tr> <td> India coach Gary Kirsten with his son Joshua during a World Cup training session. Kirsten has cited family commitments as the reason for quitting the coach's job. pic/imtiyaz khan</td></tr></tbody></table>"No, I made that decision long back. There is no chance of rethinking my decision. I am going back to South Africa," Kirsten told MiD DAY at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday. With Indian winning the World Cup, Kirsten has now gone one step ahead of John Wright, the Indian team's first foreign coach, in terms of success. No surprise then that the 43-year-old became emotional as he watched the celebrations on the ground. "It's a brilliant moment. I can feel it," he said. But he was too humble to share the glory. "I have done nothing, all credit go to the boys. They did all the hard work. I just helped them believe they can be No 1 in every aspect of cricket," he said. Soon, hands began to pat him on the back. There were so many of them that he must have gone numb. But Kirsten lapped it all up. He has stood in the middle of a cricket ground many times before, but Saturday night at the Wankhede Stadium, was different. What he saw in front of him was a sea of humanity in wild celebrations. "I can't even think! People have gone mad. They have become crazy! Look at the jubilation," he exclaimed. Some of the fans, including women, jumped the fences from the gallery and ran towards the Indian dressing room. Kirsten was awestruck but retained his perspective. "Seriously, the boys deserve the win. Everybody believed they could do it. That's the important factor about this team. They have proved they are the world champions." When the players credited their success to him and the support staff, Kirsten didn't quite agree. "They (players) make the team. We just helped them. Whatever they have achieved, it is on their own.u00a0 Nothing more, nothing less," he said. Kirsten's colleague and the team's mental conditioning coach, Paddy Upton said: "We were here just to give them strength from the back-room. The players should be given credit, because it's they who won the World Cup." Nevertheless, Sachin Tendulkar didn't forget the contribution of the support staff. "He (Kirsten) has done superbly. He moulded the team into a unit. He is very special to us. I personally thank Gary," he said. "It's because of them that our job became easy. Not only me, the whole team will miss them. Will miss their presence in the dressing rooms."

South African coach firm on leaving India after World Cup triumph

Kirsten rules out rethink on decision

Trending Stories

Latest Photos

Latest Videos

Latest Web Stories

Mid-Day Fast

Home / Sports / Cricket / Article / Kirsten rules out rethink on decision

Kirsten rules out rethink on decision

Trending Stories

Latest Photos

Latest Videos

Latest Web Stories

Mid-Day Fast