'SAY CHEESE MR FLETCHER'

I googled Duncan Fletcher and the screen lit up with a number of pieces on his next stint with the Indian cricket team, his biodata, his wiki link, his childhood days... The number of search results exceeding that of the infamous Greg Chappell by a mile.

But I was not too keen on that. I clicked on the images tab and the page flooded with hundreds of pictures of the man in question. His chubby face in every possible angle, clothed in every english jersey that was ever made during his tenure (a handful donning the Proteas colours too). And almost every photograph had Duncan Andrew Fletcher looking hard at something (or someone) at a distance, his gaze fixed on the target and the mouth in a firm thin line.

I rummaged through the snaps, marvelling at the limitless patience with which all these lenses waited and ended up capturing the now-to-be-familiar stoic-ness of Mr Duncan Fletcher.

He was pensive and then he was curious. He was stern, he was all discipline. At some places, he was worried. At other times, a tad cautious. The cameramen snapped the seemingly reclusive Duncan Fletcher in every emotion that registered on his jawline and the wrinkles on his forehead... but never reached his eyes.

Even the title of his book, 'Behind the Shades', probably gives away a part of his innate nature and his core. There have been stories of his not-so-happy times with the English side. And incidently many of his dispassionate-looking photos have appeared in the blues of the poms.

After pouring through the many images of the unflappable Duncan, I managed to chance upon a picture at last of the old man letting out a laugh. And truly could not fathom what brought upon that rare moment in the canvas..

I imagined a joke being cracked - one that the old man had probably never heard before. So in one of those hard-to-imagine conspiratorial moments where everything fell into place, Duncan Fletcher grinned.

I smiled thinking of the lucky photographer who managed to get the shutter to fire at exactly that moment!

Just one photo in a myriad of otherwise glum, ponderous, almost sedate snapshots of the next Indian coach. It's clearly a position that not many fancy, a few stay away from and others whisper the horrors of, in empty corridors of big air-conditioned offices.

And I wondered, surely Fletcher would think of arming himself with more than just those glares, piercing eyes and smoldering expressions if he were to come out of the 2 years unscathed..!

A joke book maybe, videos of the best stand-up comics, the top 10 english comedies perhaps.... the options are endless.

That's because Mr Fletcher, you are about to coach the number 1 squad in Tests, a team that has just won the World Cup and is led by, whom many claim, the coolest customer in cricket and a man of many laughs.

So at times, a hearty chuckle could probably be the lone thing that will see you through the day...!