Coach role holds no appeal for Fleming

WELLINGTON - With 28 test match victories Stephen Fleming is statistically the best New Zealand skipper, but doubts remain whether the greatest captain of the country will ever return to the national side as coach.

Fleming, who has been part of the Chennai Super Kings since 2007, has enjoyed recent success with the Super Kings, winning the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Champions League, but that seems the limit of his managerial ambitions.

“Statistically our best skipper, with 28 test match victories (Geoff Howarth is next best with 11), the 37-year-old has long been viewed as a natural choice for a head coach role with the Black Caps but that seems increasingly unlikely as time goes by,” New Zealand Herald reports.

“I’ve got no real desire to coach for 12 months of the year, especially when you have got the ability to stay involved for two months. At this point in time I am not really interested in anything more than the IPL,” said Fleming.

Fleming has become involved in several business ventures, including player management since his premature retirement from International Cricket in 2008, and Brendon McCullum is among those in his stable.

“You never say never but I would struggle to see it. Probably not. At this point definitely not and certainly not at any time in the next three years. A number of players talk about the amount of cricket and the amount of time away,” said Fleming.

“I’m enjoying other aspects of life but still getting my fix from the high-octane two months of IPL. The lifestyle that I left behind is pretty consuming and I’m happy to be out of it,” he added.

Former New Zealand coach Steve Rixon feels Fleming is more than able to make the step up but may never be willing.

“He would handle it no problem. But at international level you are not going to get the best coaches involved. The IPL is lucrative, it is enjoyable and it is short. It is sad because at the end of the day there are a lot of guys who are going to see this as their greatest opportunity and jump on board,” said Rixon.

“They will say, ‘do I need to be away from home for 12 months of the year; running all around the world, for probably less money?’ That scares me for international cricket,” he added. (ANI)