New Indian team head coach Gautam Gambhir and the BCCI are reportedly struggling to come to a consensus when it comes to support staff appointments. Gambhir was officially named as the Indian head coach replacing Rahul Dravid on July 9.
Since then reports and rumors have discussed multiple names for Gautam Gambhir’s support staff. Gautam Gambhir had previously suggested the names of R Vinay Kumar and L Balaji as his bowling coaches. However, the BCCI failed to agree on these names.
Then Gambhir suggested the name of former South African pacer Morne Morkel, with whom he worked in Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). However, according to a report in The Economic Times, the BCCI has rejected Gambhir's proposal.
There are other areas where the board has disregarded Gambhir's recommendations, besides the bowling coach. As the fielding coach, Gambhir also had two selections rejected: Ryan ten Doeschate and Jonty Rhodes.
The only preference of Gautam Gambhir that has been seemingly approved is Abhishek Nayar as the assistant coach. Although nothing is official yet, numerous media rumors are indicating that the former Mumbai player, who gained notoriety by turning around the careers of Dinesh Karthik and Shreyas Iyer, is probably going to be selected.
The Kolkata Knight Riders are the only thing that unites the candidates dismissed by the board with Gambhir, despite there being no question about their abilities. In the case of Ten Doeschate, Gambhir served as both their captain and a part of the KKR coaching staff.
Under Gambhir's leadership, Morkel, Balaji, and Vinay Kumar each spent three seasons as members of the KKR team. The only person who did not play for Gambhir at KKR is Nayar, who served as assistant coach for the team that Gambhir guided to the IPL championship this year.
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. However, the report in Economic Times has revealed what has changed with BCCI 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 report added.
Gambhir has only 10 days now to conjure up his support staff as the Sri Lanka tour begins on July 27.
