He was supposed to spend an extra day in Galle with his family, but had to rush to Colombo after getting the news that his ailing mother, a cancer patient, suffered a stroke. The South African informed the BCCI about after his unavailability for the series-deciding Test match.

After getting the go-ahead from Mumbai, Kirsten had an extended chat with skipper Anil Kumble. Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, Kirsten said the news was a personal blow. However, he was keener on speaking about the team’s turnaround and how, despite delivering the counterpunch, there was an environment of humility and a total lack of arrogance in the dressing room.

If these words needed a convincing face, Kirsten had not even once during his long and detailed answers mentioned the word ‘I’.

In a refreshing change from an earlier era, the coach, who since his arrival in India has been guarded in his thoughts and has famously avoided the spotlight, didn’t quite paint himself as the man with the Midas touch.

Those who know about his coaching style say it is anything but overbearing and problems aren’t dealt with a ‘my way or the highway’ attitude. That Kirsten is 40 means there’s not much of a generation gap between the coach and the players. In case things don’t quite work for any of his wards, Kirsten’s idea of help is to give opinions and advice since he knows he is dealing with international cricketers.

An example of this was the way he helped Rahul Dravid deal with Ajantha Mendis. The batsman, dismissed by the ‘freak’ bowler thrice in the series earlier, came out confident in the second innings of the Galle Test and handled him well.

“You have an individual who has played over 120 Test matches and he is a very senior batsman. What we can do is ask Rahul what his plans are to deal with the problem, give our opinion and see if he goes with a positive frame of mind,” explained Kirsten.

“With his massive Test experience you know that he will work it out. And you saw how there was a great improvement in the way Rahul played (Mendis) in the second Test.”

The approach remains the same when the ‘troubled’ player happens to be the ‘kid on the block’ — Ishant Sharma. As Kirsten shares a few details about his sessions with the 19-year-old, it is clear that usual mumbo-jumbo and complex dissection of rival batsmen are left out of the room. “We just tell him to bowl where he can, and stick to his natural length. And when he does so, he is as good as anyone in the world,” he said.

All-inclusive approach

The coach doesn’t leave out the support staff during the think tank’s meeting. Those in the dressing room also say that though Kirsten has certain casualness about him, and believes in involving everyone to achieve the common goal, it can never be mistaken for any over-indulging friendliness. He maintains a distance and doesn’t mince words when the need be.

It’s a trait that he shares with Kumble, and that’s the reason he has forged a perfect partnership with him, where mutual respect is the adhesive. And that’s why he knows that the team will be in able hands as he flies out of the Island on Tuesday night.

“I have complete faith in what Anil can do. He can come and take over the reins. He is a fantastic leader and a fighter,” said Kirsten about the man who, he thinks, was responsible for the team bouncing back.

Kirsten says with a smile how happy he was to fathom the feeling of hurt in the dressing room after the defeat at the SSC. “That is great since that’s when one knows that these guys take great pride in playing for India. In case they play reasonably well, we can win the series,” he said.