Pune’s good start to the IPL (victories over Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab) provided much cheer to the former South African pace great, who spoke to MiD DAY yesterday.

Excerpts:
On his coaching philosophy:
I always want to interact with the guys (bowlers). In one interaction, you can gauge a bowler’s mindset and then work accordingly. I am not at all a technical person. I always concentrate on building a relationship with the bowlers. I have done this with the South African national team, and I am not doing anything different here.

Poll

Who will win the Punjab Elections?

BJP 32.79%

AAP 42.62%

INC 24.59%

Submit

View All In Poll

On Pune Warriors’ fine IPL-V start:
So far, Ashok Dinda and Ashish Nehra responded to my style very well, especially Dinda. I’ve followed his career a bit. From an Indian perspective, he is really quick, classy and skillful. I’m impressed by the pace he generates. Even Sourav (Ganguly) rates him very highly. I like his confidence. Also, he keeps trying till he achieves perfection and always has questions.

On what went into winning back-to-back matches:
One is the way Sourav is leading. The entire unit is charged up because of his aggressive captaincy. Besides Sourav, Paddy Upton (mental conditioning coach) has played a crucial role in keeping the players calm after winning two games in three days.

On whether he wants to become Team India’s bowling coach:
No way. Gary (Kirsten) and me have a mission for South Africa - the 2015 World Cup. Our target is to reach the final. I still regret our exit from the 1999 World Cup after the tie against Australia in Edgbaston. u00a0