India head coach Rahul Dravid has conveyed to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) that he will not be reapplying for the post of head coach of the Indian team.
As per Sportstar inputs, Dravid who had agreed to an extension after the ICC World Cup in November last year, had clarified well in advance about seeking no further extension due to personal reasons.
This was despite a group of seniors in the team requesting him to consider being at the helm of the Test team at least for a year after the T20 World Cup. Had Dravid agreed, the BCCI may have considered having different coaches for limited-over and Test match set-ups.
But BCCI secretary Jay Shah has already confirmed that there will only be one head coach across formats and his appointment will be till the end of 2027.
The BCCI has invited applications for the role of head coach of the Indian team and has set May 27 as the deadline.
Contrary to expectations, VVS Laxman, the head coach at the National Cricket Academy, is unlikely to participate. The BCCI, after consulting with senior players, may be forced to hunt for an overseas coach.
In their search for a new Indian team head coach, BCCI has sent feelers to a few foreign coaches in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL 2024). And one of those coaches is CSK’s Stephen Fleming.
The former New Zealand captain took over as head coach of the CSK franchise, after retiring from the game in 2008 and had guided the MS Dhoni-starring franchise to five IPL titles and two Champions League T20 titles.
However, with the BCCI’s condition that the new head coach will be in charge of all three formats, it remains to be seen whether Fleming applies for the job which will require him to be with the team for 10 months a year.
According to high-level board sources, Fleming, who has been CSK's head coach since 2009, is viewed as a good option to succeed Dravid.
India is expected to experience a time of transformation across all formats in the coming years, and Fleming's man-management skills, ability to bring out the best in players by fostering a positive environment, and high success rate at CSK are seen to be key lure.
The Indian Express has reported that BCCI has had informal discussions with Fleming on the sidelines of the IPL 2024.
Apart from CSK, Fleming has coached Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash for four years, Joburg Super Kings in SA20, and Texas Super Kings in Major League Cricket. He is also the head coach of Southern Brave in The Hundred.
It is understood that India’s senior players also prefer having a coach with such pedigree and strong technical knowledge, as it would help the next generation of players who are expected to form the core of the team over the next three years.
If the BCCI is not able to lure Fleming, it would be interesting to see where it goes next. Apart from Fleming, other foreign coaches are also apprehensive about taking up the job as it demands them to be on the road for 10 months a year. Even Dravid has been granted breaks from time and time, with the former India captain often skipping some white-ball series.
(Sportstar/The Indian Express inputs)
