After the BCCI invited applications for the post of India head coach, reports of possible successors to Rahul Dravid started flowing in, and CSK head coach Stephen Fleming’s name has to come first. Former Australia coach and current LSG head coach Justin Langer has also expressed his curiosity. The BCCI’s job description for the post of India head coach is as detailed as it can get. Being such a high-profile and well-paying job, there will be no shortage of applicants. But who will be the right fit to take over the reins from Rahul Dravid?
5 Qualities BCCI is Looking for in the Next India Head Coach: Accomplished Strategist, Handling Marquee Athletes…
Let’s take a look at the five possible contenders:
Gautam Gambhir
The phrase ‘a storm in a teacup’ is the trend these days, and Gautam Gambhir, in many ways, personifies that. But aside from Gambhir’s no-nonsense straight talk, he has an astute cricketing mind, and after leading Kolkata Knight Riders to two IPL titles, he has transformed KKR in IPL 2024 as a team to beat. There is no doubting Gambhir’s credentials as a mentor, and going by some of the requirements BCCI had listed out in their JD for the post of head coach, it will be fair to say the former India international is probably the best candidate that fulfills those requirements.
For instance, one of the critical competencies that BCCI has listed is the ‘Head Coach will be responsible for reviewing, maintaining, and enforcing the disciplinary codes within the Indian Men’s team’. Well, isn’t Gambhir the man for that? There’s also a requirement of being an ‘accomplished strategist’, and Gambhir, who was the mentor for LSG in 2022 and 2023 before taking up the mentor role with KKR this year, has shown what a master tactician he is by taking KKR to the top of the points table in IPL 2024. And if you need more convincing, here is another point from BCCI’s job description that may be Gambhir’s cup of tea, and only his – ‘Must be willing to meet work expectations and pressures associated with handling marquee athletes’. What say?
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Stephen Fleming
Stephen Fleming has a wealth of experience as a coach and fits the bill per BCCI’s job description. The former New Zealand captain has been the most consistent coach in the IPL history, guiding CSK to 5 titles and a couple of Champions League trophies. Besides the Chennai-based franchise, the former Kiwi skipper is also the head coach of Joburg Super Kings in SA20 and Texas Super Kings in Major League Cricket – both of which are sister franchises of CSK. Fleming has coached Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash for four years and is also associated with the Southern Brave in The Hundred. However, his long-time association with CSK and his role with the franchise in leagues will probably prove to be the biggest obstacle for BCCI in hiring the Kiwi.
Justin Langer
A challenging taskmaster, Justin Langer was Australia men’s head coach for nearly four years after being appointed to the job in May 2018 in the aftermath of the ball-tampering scandal (sandpaper gate), taking over from Dareen Lehmann. Under his tenure, Australia lost two home Test series to India, but he marshalled the team to the 2021 T20 World Cup win in the UAE and oversaw two Ashes series victories – in 2019 and 2021. Under the former opener, Australia claimed the No.1 ranking in Tests and T20Is in 2020. But Langer had an embarrassing exit as the Australian coach, with the players allegedly revolting against Langer’s intense management style. Despite holding marathon talks for a contract extension, Langer resigned in 2022. Currently the coach of LSG, Langer could bring in his wealth of man-management skills and the ability to handle the ‘marquee athletes’. It will be exciting if BCCI thinks of hiring an Australian as their head coach, though. Does anyone remember the Chappell era?
VVS Laxman
The most obvious choice and probably the safest, considering he is the current head of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) – a position Dravid had held before taking charge of the senior men’s team. Laxman has also stepped in as the stand-in coach for the senior squad in Dravid’s absence, but various media reports suggest that Laxman is not keen to take up the role.
Andy Flower
Flower was appointed England’s assistant coach way back in 2007 and went on to become the time director two years later. Under him, England won the Ashes in 2009, the T20 World Cup in 2010, an away Ashes series in 2010-11, and England took to No.1 rankings in Test in 2011. After his spell with the England team ended, he continued his association with the ECB as part of the technical director for the England Lions for nearly five years. He also took up franchise coaching with PSL and CPL, helping Peshawar Zalmi to top the PSL points table in 2016, taking Multan Sultans to their first-ever playoff in 2020 and the title in 2021. In 2022 and 2023, Multan made the finals. He took the CPL team, St Lucia Zouks, to two back-to-back finals in 2020 and 2021. In the IPL, he was the coach of Punjab Kings in 2020 and 2021 and then took over the role at LSG, taking them to two back-to-back playoffs. Flower has also won trophies in the ILT20 (Gulf Giants), The Hundred (Trent Rockets) and the Abu Dhabi T10 (Maratha Arabians). Currently, Flower is the head coach of RCB in the IPL.
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