Andy Flower discusses possibility of coaching India; opines on Smith v Kohli debate

Flower is currently the assistant coach of KXIP franchise in IPL.

Former Zimbabwean cricketer Andy Flower had a chequered career which began with a century on ODI debut in the 1992 World Cup and ended with a protest during the 2003 World Cup. During this period, he was easily Zimbabwe’s best batsman in Tests and ODIs and one of the best in the world as well.

After retirement, he took up coaching opportunities, the biggest being helming England from 2009-2014. Currently, he is the coach of Delhi Bulls in the Abu Dhabi T10 league and assistant coach of IPL franchise Kings XI Punjab.

During a chat with the Times of India, Flower was asked about a possible run as an Indian team coach and he said that he was open to the opportunity of doing so in the future.

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“I've done one year of franchise coaching and I've really enjoyed that actually. The variety of challenges, meeting lots of new people, making lots of good relationships with players and staff. I've really enjoyed that and I'm going to do at least another year of that and then probably have a think about my own coaching career and what I want to do with it. I wouldn't rule out coaching internationally again,” he said.

Talking about becoming head coach of the Indian team, Flower said, “And obviously, India is one of the greatest Test nations in the world. And I think it's an honor to lead your country and represent a country either as a captain or as a coach and leader of whichever country you are committed to. So I'm just going to take this next year and enjoy my franchise challenges. And then I'll keep my options open and reassess them.”

Flower was also asked about picking the best batsman currently between India’s Virat Kohli and Australia’s Steve Smith.

“Smith has done amazingly well in Test cricket. I have been surprised by how well he's done. But he's shown that he can adapt his game and that's a wonderful quality to be able to adapt and evolve and develop as Smith has done,” he said.

He then talked about Virat Kohli and said, “Kohli is incredibly skillful, hungry (for runs), and likes combat. He likes the battle. And I really admire that in him. I admire his energy which is up all the time. I think they have both got very good leadership traits. They're good role models. I know Steve Smith has had a few battles in that area, obviously. But I admire them both and I'm not going to pick one or the other.”

(Times of India inputs)