Duncan Fletcher as the Indian coach did moderately well. Under his regime as the head coach, the Indian team was simple terrific in the shorter formats and the results speak for themselves. In colored clothing, the men in blue, under Fletcher’s coaching won the 2013 Champions Trophy in England, stood runners up in the T20 World Cup 2014, defeated England in a bilateral series in England and were semi finalists in the ICC World Cup 2015.
The results in Test cricket though were highly under par. With Fletcher at the helm of affairs, the Indians were whitewashed in England and Australia; defeated in away test series’ by South Africa, New Zealand, England and Australia. The Indians even lost to England at home in 2012, a test series loss which happened at home after 8 years!
But the aspect which puts Fletcher in a positive frame is that he groomed players extremely well. It was under Fletcher’s coaching that Rohit Sharma rediscovered his magical talent. Fletcher was the one who gave Shikhar Dhawan and Ravindra Jadeja’s careers another run, and doing so paid rich dividends. Ajinkya Rahane made his international debut under Fletcher as well. As per sources in the BCCI, the most impressive feat under Fletcher was that the Indians made it to the semi finals in the 2015 World Cup. Considering how shattered the team was before the World Cup, it was a brilliant feat.
The former Zimbabwean cricketer though, recently cleared himself and said that he was open for another stint with team India. A source, within the dressing room setup was quoted saying, “He (Fletcher) is open to continuing with the Indian team. He had quite a successful association and he is not averse to the idea of a second innings,” said the source.
Recently, there were reports of Fletcher wanting to quit due to family reasons. But now, there are no such hurdles according to sources. The monetary factor was a significant reason behind Fletcher wanting to do a second stint. The 66 year old was paid $30,000 a month, without any taxes as the Indian coach.
Fletcher was also open to coach an IPL side and the source said that a few franchises could well approach Fletcher.
“He was hinting at a role in the IPL. He will be happy to take up an IPL assignment which is just 2 months a year,” said the source.
It will be interesting to know the BCCI’s response to Fletcher for sure!