Prolific Indian opener Gautam Gambhir feels that the Indian Cricket Board should renew the contract of coach Gary Kirsten after it expires at the end of the Cricket World Cup next year.

“Gary is the best coach India has ever had. I have often said that and I keep on stressing that we need Gary. I don’t need to speak much about him. His fabulous record speaks for itself. He has been a great man-manager. So I believe that he should be retained after the World Cup also,” Gambhir said at the sidelines of a promotional event here.

Gambhir is thus the latest among the Indian stars to join the bandwagon who want the South African to be retained as Cricket South Africa wants him to take over once he finishes his stint with the Indian team.

The opener also supported Kirsten’s idea of sending the top-order batsmen to South Africa, a week in advance so that they can get themselves acclimatised to the pace and bounce of wickets over there.

“We haven’t played much cricket in South Africa of late. So it will be a great idea if we go there a bit early to get used to the conditions. If such a thing happens, it may just work in our favour,” Gambhir said.

He also reiterated that one can’t continue his blazing form for life and there is bound to be ups and downs.

“Right now I am coming back from injury. It’s always a difficult thing when you come back from injury. Only when you spend considerable time out there in the middle, you get to know how it’s shaping up for you,” he said.

The Delhi batsman also feels that just because Bangladesh whipped New Zealand 4-0 in the ODI series, it did not mean that it will be a cakewalk for the Indians when they meet the Black Caps from November 4.

“You can never take any international opposition lightly. Just because Bangladesh beat them 4-0 doesn’t mean that we can take it easy against the New Zealanders. Their team consists of some proven match-winners who can turn a match head on. So we need to be very careful and can’t take things for granted,” Gambhir said.

On a lighter vein, he said that walking ramp is tough but not as tough as opening the batting for the country.

He also said that he hasn’t seen the likes of Yuvraj Singhs and Mahendra Singh Dhonis walk the ramp but said that a cricketer’s endeavour is to perform on field rather than score points off it.

The Proteas are keen to have their former star batsman Gary Kirsten as national team’s coach next year, but Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is reportedly among those pushing to have the South African’s contract as Indian coach renewed.

Kirsten had gained respect and popularity after taking over as coach of the Indian side in March 2008, a weekly said, adding that this was boosted by India’s victory against Australia earlier this month in Test series.

With Corrie van Zyl having announced his decision to retire as South African coach after the World Cup in March next year, Kirsten is one of those being eyed for the position by Cricket South Africa (CSA), according to insiders.

But whether Kirsten would be available when his contract with India ends after the World Cup, will also depend on India’s performance in the tournament.

Current Indian players, especially the senior members of the team like Sachin Tendulkar and Dhoni are believed to be so impressed with Kirsten that they might even put pressure on the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) to offer him a new contract, the weekly reported.

It further said that Kirsten would be able to dictate his own pay cheque if India won the tournament.

The enthusiasm Team India coach Gary Kirsten carried summed up the mood in the national camp and the South African was only too forthcoming as he disclosed the secret behind the smile. The relatively long break the Men in Blue enjoyed over the past six weeks has left the coach a satisfied man, more so against the backdrop of a creditable show by his wards in the last few months, except, of course, in the T20 World Cup.

The joie de vivre was palpable as the Indian cricketers began their preparations for a long season at the National Cricket Academy here on Thursday, sweating it out in the gymnasium and undergoing fitness tests in the afternoon. Captain MS Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik, Harbhajan Singh and RP Singh even had a brief session of badminton at the courts in the M Chinnaswamy Stadium premises.

“It is important for us to get back on track. The big focus here is on conditioning. Equally, it is time for us to up the intensity on practice. We are going to hit a lot in the next three days and the guys are going to bowl a lot as well. We know that we are two weeks away from a One-day event and are setting up things for that,” said Kirsten emphasising the importance of the four-day camp.

On whether such a short camp is enough before a crucial tournament like the Champions Trophy, Kirsten said: “It doesn’t concern me. We have tried to plan things in whatever way possible. It was important for us to have a six-week break. It is the longest break the Indian team had for a long time. There is a lot of cricket coming up including the Corporate Cup. We play three games in Sri Lanka and then we have enough time before playing the first game in the Champions Trophy.”

Realising that the No.1 ODI status is not too far away, the goal now, according to Kirsten, is to carry the momentum forward. “We have performed really well. The One-day team has virtually an 80 percent win ratio in the last eight months. We take pride in our consistency and we like to continue that. Everyone is feeling quite fresh mentally at the moment and it is nice to be back in the mix again… We had a setback in the T20 World Cup but that can happen to any world class team. We are looking forward to what we can achieve. The team spirit and unity is good as it has ever been,” remarked Kirsten.

Even the hue and cry over short-pitched deliveries did not seem to bother the coach. “The short-pitched ball was a problem in only one game in the T20 World Cup. All of them including the young players have performed exceptionally well over an extended period of time.”

No wonder, Kirsten apparently was not ready to tag the short-ball issue along with Dravid’s inclusion and was keen to look at the larger picture. “It is good to have him (Dravid) back. He is a very experienced player and he adds massive value to the team. He is a natural performer.

“My expectation from Dravid would be same as from any other player – to give 100 per cent for the team. I don’t need to tell him (Dravid) that because he does it every time. There is no pressure on individuals to perform on any given day because we know that if they do what they have to do in training and preparation, they give themselves the best chance to attain success,” signed off the coach.

India coach Gary Kirsten has warned that a lot of players could go the Andrew Flintoff way and quit Tests to prolong their One-day and Twenty20 career as it assures them of more money for less cricket.

“It’s a natural progression that the guys are then going to say ‘I’m not interested in bowling 25 overs in a day when I can bowl four overs in a six-week period and earn three times as much’,” Kirtsen was quoted as saying by a website.

Flintoff will quit Test cricket after the ongoing Ashes and the 31-year-old blamed the decision on his injury-ravaged body. Kirsten said Flintoff’s decision could influence a lot of other players.

“The worrying side that I’m seeing is that a guy like Andrew Flintoff, a high profile cricketer, has now made the decision to leave Test cricket, because he feels that he can get more out of his body and earn much more money by moving away from Test cricket and playing ODIs and Twenty20 cricket.

“He’s perfectly right in his decision. Why not?” he said.

The former South African coach said ODI games should be lessened and Twenty20 games increased to strike the right balance.

“India plays six Tests this year. Is that sufficient or are there other priorities? I don’t know.”

“It’s quite interesting that we’ve got a Twenty20 World Cup in April next year in the West Indies and Team India don’t play one Twenty20 game until that tournament starts.

“What should be happening is that we should be going on tour and playing six Twenty20 games and one or two 50-over games. I think that’s going to happen. It’s just a matter of time,” he said.

There are trends developing in world cricket that are of concern to the future of the game, including in India, Indian coach Gary Kirsten said.

“Team India has to decide its priorities in terms of Test cricket and other forms of the game, like T20″, he said.

“It’s quite interesting that we’ve got a Twenty20 World Cup in April next year in the West Indies and Team India don’t play one T20 game until that tournament starts.

“What should be happening is that we should be going on tour and playing six T20 games and one or two 50 over games. I think that’s going to happen – it’s just a matter of time.

Kirsten said he believed that 50-over games were “here to stay”.

On Test cricket, Kirsten said: “The worrying side that I’m seeing is that a guy like Andrew Flintoff as a high profile cricketer has now made the decision to leave Test cricket because he feels that he can get more longevity out of his body and earn a much more money by moving away from Test cricket and playing One-day and T20 cricket.

“He’s perfectly right in his decision. Why not?

“The one area that is concerning me about where Test cricket is going is that if you are going to be paying playing substantially more to play IPL as opposed to playing a Test match for their country, it’s a natural progression that the guys are then going to say ‘I’m not interested in bowling 25 overs in a day when I can bowl four over a six-day period and earn three times as much.’”

Kirsten said the “bottom line” was that every country needed to look at Test cricket and say how important it was to them.

“Team India plays six Tests this year. Is that sufficient or are there other priorities? I don’t know.”

“We do need to look at the economics, but if we are going to keep Test cricket going like we wanted to, we need to sort out the priorities of Test cricket and (whether it) stands above anything else (like) T20 cricket.”

Reacting to coach Gary Kirsten’s comments that the IPL was one of the reasons for India’s early exit from the T20 World Cup, the BCCI, on Tuesday, said it had not forced anyone to play in the IPL and players were free to ask for rest if they feel fatigued.

The BCCI said players could opt out of any tournament if they were tired or were not fit.

“BCCI has made it clear that whenever a player feels he is fatigued, he can always let it be known to the board and he will be given rest. After rest and if he is fit, he can be considered for selection again,” BCCI Media and Finance committee chairman Rajiv Shukla said.

“We are not forcing any player to play any series or tournament,” he added.

Asked pointedly on Kirsten’s comments that the Indian players lacked intensity after playing in the IPL which could be a reason for their early ouster from the Twenty20 World Cup, Shukla said, “These are all suggestions made for the improvement of the game in the country. The president (Shashank Manohar) himself is now in London and he will look into it”.