Gary Kirsten checks into a Bangalore hotel on Friday

Bangalore: It could be called the tale of two South Africans.

Six months ago, Graham Ford avoided the media after being offered the Team India coach’s job. On Friday evening, Gary Kirsten didn’t mind taking the odd question on his first trip to India as coach.

“Of course, I’m excited and why not? It’s good to be back in India,” Kirsten told The Telegraph as he checked in at the Grand Ashok.

Kirsten, a former stand-in captain, didn’t show signs of jet lag. “I had a comfortable journey from Jo’burg to Dubai and, then, on to here,” he said as the hotel’s security staff escorted him to the elevator.

At the airport, Kirsten emphasised that he’d made the trip to make himself familiar with the “cricket culture” and hadn’t come with a plan which had to be implemented straightaway.

Indeed, Kirsten will only be taking charge from March 1. Till then, he’s going to act more as a consultant.

Kirsten timed his arrival rather well: Around an hour or so before the team left for dinner hosted by Test captain Anil Kumble.

That informal setting allowed Greg Chappell’s full-time successor to interact with the ones he’ll soon be working with closely.

Kirsten, by the way, acknowledged that the “pressure” in these parts was immense. It’s not just on the players, mind you.

As of now, Kirsten is going to be in Bangalore throughout the third and final Test against Pakistan, which begins on Saturday.