'Panther' ready for England challenge

PUNE, June 12: "It's a pleasant surprise to me. I'm still waiting for the Board to tell me this officially," Chandu Borde told TOI while reacting to the news that he had been named India's manager for the upcoming visits to Ireland and England.
Surprises are not new to Borde. In 1989 he was the manager of Indian cricket team that toured Pakistan and he had to do the job singlehandedly as the administrative manager Maj.SC Nayyar had to come back to India.
"I was the coach, I was the manager. I was everything there; not like the present day structure, where they have a bowling coach, a batting coach, a video analyst, a physical trainer, and a physiotherapist," he said.
Then in 1999 he was named chairman of the National selection committee for the second time pipping other big names like Ajit Wadekar, Anshuman Gaekwad and Dilip Vengsarkar, although Borde was nowhere in reckoning then.
And the third big surprise came on Tuesday. Borde was watching a sports programme on TV when former Baroda Ranji player Raju Mehta called him first to break the news. "The news came to me out of the blue. Never in my dream had I thought of this and it's difficult for me to digest," he said. Since then his elder son Uday and wife Vijaya had been constantly attending the phone calls.
One among the several calls was from former BCCI secretary Jaywant Lele and Borde screamed loudly, "Bola (tell me) partner! Let's go back to England together again."
Borde was nostalgic as both of them had toured as coach and manager of the under-19 team that toured England in 1981 that was led by Ravi Shastri.
Is he ready for the challenge? "Yes, England tour is a challenging one as no one can predict the weather and pitches there and I have always accepted challenges. I have always performed well during crisis and this time too I'm confident that we'll come out good," says former captain nicknamed the 'Panther.'
Borde said that he was yet to discuss his role with the Board with many heads like bowling and fielding coaches around.