 "Gautam Gambhir was allowed to handpick a majority of his support staff after taking over as India men's head coach in July. PTI")
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has introduced several measures in the aftermath of India’s disastrous run in Tests in the last three months, which saw the Rohit Sharma-led side suffer a 0-3 whitewash against New Zealand at home and surrender the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to Australia with a 3-1 series loss. Among them was setting a time limit on family members and partners accompanying players on overseas tours as well as private travel by some members of the team.
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According to Cricbuzz, the BCCI is also contemplating adding to the men’s team’s coaching staff that is led by head coach Gautam Gambhir, specifically a batting coach. The possible expansion of the support staff was mentioned during BCCI’s review meeting on 11 January that was attended by captain Rohit Sharma and chief selector Ajit Agarkar besides Gambhir in which the board discussed India’s forgettable tour of Australia as well as the way forward.
The coaching staff assembled by Gambhir after succeeding Rahul Dravid as head coach in July comprises two assistant coaches – Abhishek Nayar and Ryan ten Doeschate – besides bowling coach Morne Morkel and fielding coach T Dilip. There was no batting coach officially appointed, though the presence of former India opener Gambhir – who had scored more than 10,000 runs during his 13-year international career – helped in that regard.
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Though the BCCI is yet to make an official announcement in this regard, the report suggests former domestic cricket heavyweights are among the names being considered.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThere were multiple speculations over captain Rohit and batting star Virat Kohli’s future in Test cricket after the two stalwarts endured a forgettable run with the bat in recent months – the former also losing six of his last seven Tests. However, the board has decided against taking any stern action against the two for now and the selectors as well as team management are reportedly including both in their plans for the five-Test series in England later this year.
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The BCCI also decided against taking any decisive action against Gambhir despite the former Kolkata Knight Riders and Lucknow Super Giants mentor hardly delivering results since taking over as head coach. The spotlight, however, is firmly on ‘GG’ at the moment and despite his contract running till the 2027 ODI World Cup, the board might be forced to “re-evaluate” his job should the Men in Blue put up another underwhelming performance in the upcoming Champions Trophy.