Gautam Gambhir and BCCI have been in a tiff when it comes to choosing his support staff. Gambhir was appointed as new Indian team head coach on July 9 and he replaced Rahul Dravid.
Gautam Gambhir has only 10 days to finalize his support staff as his first assignment for the Indian team will be the tour of Sri Lanka for 3 T20Is and 3 ODIs. The T20I series begins on July 27 onwards, leaving the new coach with very little time to finalize the bowling coach, the fielding coach, and the assistant coach for his staff.
Gautam Gambhir had suggested three options for the bowling coach role, but the BCCI has rejected all of them. Gambhir had also suggested two choices for the fielding coach role, but the BCCI vetoed those names as well.
There have been several individuals mentioned in reports and rumors regarding Gautam Gambhir’s support team. As bowling coaches, Gautam Gambhir has previously proposed R Vinay Kumar and L Balaji. The BCCI was unable to agree on these names, nevertheless.
Next, Gambhir proposed the name of his old colleague at the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), South African bowler Morne Morkel. But The Economic Times reports that Gambhir’s suggestion was turned down by the BCCI.
Beyond bowling coach, there are other areas in which Gambhir’s recommendations have been ignored by the board. In his capacity as fielding coach, Gambhir also saw Jonty Rhodes and Ryan Ten Doeschate rejected.
Abhishek Nayar only name suggested by Gautam Gambhir, approved by BCCI
The only position that appears to have received Gautam Gambhir’s approval is assistant coach Abhishek Nayar. Many media reports suggest that the former Mumbai player, who rose to prominence by salvaging the careers of Dinesh Karthik and Shreyas Iyer, will most likely be chosen, even if nothing formal has been announced as of yet.
While BCCI has given head coaches a free hand in choosing their support staff from the times of Greg Chappell, Gary Kirsten, Anil Kumble, Ravi Shastri, and Rahul Dravid, things have seemingly changed when it comes to Gautam Gambhir.
“One insider has suggested that this was one way in which BCCI was letting Gambhir know that although he was its choice for head coach, he was not going to be the one calling the shots. There was also a school of thought that suggested that this was only reflective of the change in the functioning of BCCI. Where previously decisions were taken largely by committee and consensus, it’s an open secret that the power is now centered around few individuals,” the Economic Times report said.
Though there was no doubt about any of the individual candidates’ talents, the only thing that brought the board’s eliminated candidates together was the Kolkata Knight Riders. As for Ten Doeschate, Gambhir was a member of the KKR coaching staff in addition to being their captain.
Morkel, Balaji, and Vinay Kumar were all KKR players for three seasons under Gambhir’s guidance. Nayar, the assistant coach of the squad that Gambhir led to the IPL title this year, is the only member of the KKR roster who did not play under Gambhir.
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