With a series of cricket-wins under the belt and Garry Kirsten is as popular in India as the team India players. Enjoy a movie in theater - impossible, eating at popular food joints - forget about it, take a walk along the roads - no way. In India, Kirsten just can’t do the things an ordinary man would like to do. Because in India he is not an ordinary man - in the subcontinent, he is the part of the big mad world of cricket, where every actor is worshipped as God, but is not allowed to live a life of ordinary man.

And so Kirsten is making the most of his stay in South Africa, where he is remembered and adored as a fantastic opener, who got the highest Test runs in the country and as a brilliant fielder who ruled the ground in his hey days. But what his fellow South Africans are ignorant of is: his huge pay packet and his celebrity status in India. Not that Kirsten is too eager to make it public in his country. For here, despite his dazzling international cricket career, he can still enjoy the little things that every ordinary man can.

However, with a big challenge just round the corner, you can not say that he is all together chilled out. He is coaching the side that is the defending champion of the title. So as a coach of the side of reigning champs, he has got a huge responsibility on his shoulders. While the pressure of expectations is enormous, the coach believes in his team’s cricketing strength and skills. “There’ll be pressure of expectations and some well-prepared teams to counter,” admitted the team India coach. At the same time he maintains that Indian side will be a strong contender. “It is a very good team, a good mix. We’ve done very well over the last couple of years so, yes, we also have the confidence,’’ Kirsten pointed out.

Coaching India for nearly two years and the South African in him has gone for a deep slumber. Now everything he thinks or dreams are in terms of India. So when asked about South Africa’s chances in the upcoming cricket tournament, Kirsten refers to India as “we” and South Africa as “them”. “They will be tough. The IPL has given most of the teams the opportunity to let their players get a feel of T20 ahead of the competition,” opined Kirsten. “We’ll be equally well prepared,” he added.

As IPL ends, the very next day Kirsten will be addressing an important team meeting with all the selected players present. He along with the entire crew will be catching the flight for London straight from Johannesburg. But till the day arrives, it is family time out for Kirsten. Apart from playing with his little son Joshua and discussing India’s plan of action with assistant coach Paddy Upton, he plans to enjoy his holidays by catching up IPL on television.

Good luck for Kirsten - both during and after the vacation!

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3.25 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."

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