While the national sport of the country is not cricket, it is the sport preferred by the nation with people across the country uniting in their love for their motherland and her Men in Blue who bat, bowl and chase victory after victory. Such is the craze for cricket in this country that a few spectacular and world-renowned stadiums have been set up over the years, with Eden Gardens in Kolkata and Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai being key favorites. Coming to recent business, the position of Indian cricket team coach is once again up for grabs.
The BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) is reportedly on the lookout for the Indian Cricket Team’s next Head Coach. This move has come after the nail-biter against New Zealand in the ICC World Cup 2019 semi-final where India lost. Ravi Shastri, the present head coach and his team of Sanjay Bangar (batting coach), R Sridhar (fielding coach) and Bharat Arun (bowling coach) were given an extension of 45 days to cover the 2019 ICC World Cup.
Ravi Shastri does have an edge as the BCCI finalizes the next Indian Cricket Team Head Coach, but other applications are also being taken as per reports. Post the World Cup, the BCCI has revised the eligibility criteria for the position of head coach and applicants should adhere to the same. Here are the Indian team head coach eligibility requirements-
- The applicant should have been coach of a Test playing nation for at least 2 years. For IPL sides or associates, the minimum tenor is 3 years. 30 Test matches of 50 ODIs is another criteria.
- The criteria remain same for the bowling, batting and fielding coaches although the exception is that they should be less than 60 years of age. Also, they should have played a minimum of 25 ODIs or 10 Test matches.
The Indian Cricket Team coach salary is another interesting bit. The basic salary works out to approximately INR 1,57,74,456 as per reports and if you add in the bonuses, perks and miscellaneous aspects, the entire package goes up to a handsome INR 8 crores per annum. This is a great incentive but one that is well earned if you consider some of the eminent names cropping up in the list of Indian cricket team head coach predictions. Names such as Stephen Fleming and former Indian coach Gary Kirsten are said to be favorites while other contenders include Mahela Jayawardene and Tom Moody.
Possible Coaches in the fray
- Ravi Shastri – Ravi Shastri has a good track record in home and away matches and has a great rapport with skipper Virat Kohli. The overall success rate of the Men in Blue has gone up to 67% with away series’ win percentages standing at 50% and home series win percentages standing at a whopping 100%. Shastri must re-apply for the head coaching position once again, however it is quite clear that he is the firm favourite for the role.
- Gary Kirsten – Gary Kirsten has been one of the most successful Indian coaches although he retired thereafter to spend more time with his family in South Africa. He understands the team and local culture impeccably and was a great fit during his time with the team. Kirsten has won the ICC World Cup with the Indian team in 2011 along with taking the team to the number 1 position in Tests.
- Mahela Jayawardene – Coach of the highly successful IPL Champions Mumbai Indians, Jayawardene is a serious candidate. While he has scored 20,000+ runs in his career, he initially started his coaching journey as England’s batting consultant in 2015 followed by the head coaching position for the Mumbai Indians from 2017 onwards. He has won two IPL titles while also coaching the Khulna Titans for two years in the BPL (Bangladesh Premier League).
- Tom Moody – Moody is a well-known all-rounder and he became the head coach of the Sri Lankan coach, taking the team to the finals of the 2007 ICC World Cup. Moody was also Western Australia’s coach in the same year, taking this team to the final of the 2007-08 KFC Twenty20 Big Bash. He also joined the Kings XI Punjab management in the first IPL season. Moody became the coach of IPL team Sunrisers Hyderabad in the year 2013 and has coached the team for all these years since. He has won the title with the team in 2016 along with reaching the playoff stage 5 times overall.
- Stephen Fleming – The New Zealand captain was known for his grace and gentlemanly nature. Post retirement, he played for CSK (Chennai Super Kings) in the IPL in the year 2008. He then became the coach of the team from the year 2009 onwards. He also signed up as coach for the Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash and in 2018, he came back to his position as head coach for Chennai Super Kings post the team being banned for a couple of seasons from the IPL. He also coached the Rising Pune Supergiants team in this interim duration. Under Fleming’s guidance, CSK were the Champions in the 2010, 2011 and 2018 editions of the IPL while they were runners-up in the 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2019 editions.
It is now a matter of time before the next Indian head coach is appointed officially by the BCCI. We have our fingers crossed!