(Former Indian coach and member of 1983 World Cup winning team)

Undated (UNI) What a tragedy! I still can't believe that Bob Woolmer is no more.

What was his fault? That he coached a team from the sub-continent and attracted unimaginable and unbearable stress that sank him. It is so dreadful that he worried so much for the team that the job took away his life.

Was it worth, his family and friends would wonder. It hurts to accept that he died of cricket-related stress, for cricket was his life, and cricket sadly, became the reason for his death.

It is dreadful indeed that a man so dedicated, so cultured, so honest, and so friendly, had to meet such a fate. I had known Woolmer for long. I remember bowling to him in a county match and in later years found him as a coach of the opposite team.

Believe me, he never behaved like an opponent.

I say this from experience that the stress that comes when coaching a team from the sub-continent can be killing. I suffered long spells of depression when I was coach of the Indian team and I know how Woolmer must have felt after the disastrous performance of the Pakistan team in the World Cup.

Can you blame the coach alone for the two losses? It is a high pressure job and Woolmer was doing his best to motivate the players in difficult times. But the media pressure was too much and Woolmer succumbed to it. It is a lonely world when you are not doing well and that is why I ask again why most of us blame the coach when 11 players fail collectively.

I was fortunate not to have been hired by the Board as a coach but Woolmer was different. He lived for cricket and it so sad that he paid so dearly for no fault of his.

In India and Pakistan the reactions can be extreme, and that to me, is a dangerous trend. The media and the cricket officials rarely acknowledge the role of the coach during success but vilify the same man when the team loses. Woolmer was often unfairly slammed when actually the culprits were the players. It is appalling to see the players get away and the coach suffer silently.

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