Jay Shah, the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), who was never a supporter of the split coaching technique even before Gautam Gambhir was appointed as head coach, has justified India’s choice to keep a single head coach for all game formats.
Several cricket teams have utilized split coaching setups to improve performance across formats. England has adopted this technique, with Brendon McCullum as the red-ball coach and Marcus Trescothick as the temporary white-ball coach.
South Africa and Pakistan have both followed suit. Garry Kirsten is the head coach of Pakistan’s white-ball team, while Jason Gillespie is in charge of the red-ball variation. In contrast, India has never implemented a divided coaching system thus far, nor are they looking to shortly.
Gautam Gambhir was interested in all three formats: Jay Shah on hiring one coach for all three formats
Jay Shah, secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), has stated why India has decided to maintain a single head coach for all formats of the game. Jay Shah made it apparent that one must trust the coach appointed for the task.
If Gautam Gambhir has been appointed and is willing to teach all three formats, it is not his place to say that the former India captain cannot coach a particular format.
Jay Shah further said that Team India possesses a strong pool of potential coaching candidates, indicating sufficient bench strength in the coaching department.
“India plays non-stop cricket. We have good bench strength of coaches. When Rahul (Dravid) bhai was the coach and he wanted to rest, VVS Laxman would go as the coach. It depends on the coach we have picked. Gautam Gambhir was interested in all three formats, then who am I to tell him that I am going to pick you for only this format.
“If you look at the makeup of the Test, T20 and ODI sides, 70 percent of the team is more or less the same…How will the players bond with different coaches?” Jay Shah told the Times of India.
Gambhir took over as India’s head coach from Rahul Dravid, who left last month. Gambhir, 42, will manage Team India until December 2027, when the team will compete in five International Cricket Council events.
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