Jay Shah and Gautam Gambhir. (Picture Credit: X/@JayShah)
Gambhir was appointed as the new head coach of the Indian men’s cricket team for a period of three and a half years by BCCI on July 9.
Gautam Gambhir was appointed as the new head coach of the Indian men’s cricket team on June 9. The former Indian opener replaced Rahul Dravid after his contract came to an end in June. After becoming the head coach, Gambhir reportedly wanted the support staff of his own choice. He suggested former Indian all-rounder Abhishek Nayar’s name for the role of batting coach and wanted former India pacers R Vinay Kumar or Lakshmipathy Balaji as the bowling coach.
While Gambhir is expected to have Nayar on his support staff, the same can’t be said about the other two. In fact, it was reported that both names were rejected by the BCCI in the first round of discussions. The 42-year-old Gambhir had also forwarded the name of former Netherlands cricketer Ryan ten Doeschate as fielding coach of Team India and Morne Morkel’s name as bowling coach, but both of them were again rejected by the cricket board.
BCCI is not willing to give Gambhir complete freedom to choose his staff, and that has created an interesting situation because, in the past, BCCI allowed head coaches to bring their own support staff. The likes of Greg Chappell, Gary Kristen, Anil Kumble, Ravi Shastri, and Rahul Dravid all got their preferred men, so why is Gambhir facing reluctance?
According to the latest report in the Economic Times, by not agreeing with Gambhir’s demands, BCCI is letting him know that although he was its choice for head coach, he was not going to be the one calling the shots.
Gambhir to make his debut in Sri Lanka
Gambhir is all set to start his tenure as India’s head coach later this month, when India will travel to Sri Lanka. The Men in Blue are set to face the Asian giants in three T20Is and as many ODI matches. The three T20Is are scheduled to take place in Pallekele on July 27, 28, and 30, while the three ODIs will be played in Colombo on August 2, 4, and 7, respectively.