Split strategy: BCCI reportedly considering different coaches for Tests and ODIs

The hunt for new India coach has been taking ever so long and now there seems to be a new twist to the story. According to a report in the Times of India, BCCI are mulling over the idea of having separate coaches for Test and limited-overs formats. “We have different captains for Tests and ODIs. So, one of the things we are looking at is whether we can have separate coaches for different formats,” a source close to the development said. ESPNCricinfo further reports that the BCCI has approached numerous foreign candidates for the coaching role in the last one month but no one is ready to accept the job as they wouldn’t want to leave a lucrative assignment with a T20 league or a franchise and the fact that they are not confident that the BCCI won’t let them get assistants of their choice. [caption id=“attachment_2401896” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File picture of BCCI logo. Reuters[/caption] India have been without a head coach since Duncan Fletcher’s contract expired after the World Cup and team director Ravi Shastri has been overseeing things in absence of a coach. The team currently has three assistant coaches: Sanjay Bangar for batting, R Sridhar for fielding and Bharat Arun for bowling. During the lunch break on day one of the the second Test between Sri Lanka and India, BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur said that that a decision on India’s head coach will be taken in September in consultation with the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC). “I think it is very important to have a full-time coach for any team. We have taken some time to decide and most probably in the month of September, we will finalise the coach,” Thakur told official broadcasters ‘Sony Six’ during a lunchtime interview. Thakur also hinted that Shastri’s position could be accommodated within the coaching structure. “Shashri is holding the position of the director for the last few months and he has done well with the Indian cricket team, the boys have given us a good feedback about him, so the only issue is if we want a full time coach then what would be the set-up. We can’t be having 10 people with the Indian cricket team. So we have left it to the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) to decide how many people will be required, how many coaches will be required, whether a bowling coach, a batting coach, a full-time coach or a director. Let them take a call, come back to BCCI in September and before the South Africa series, I can assure you that we will take a call on that.” With inputs from PTI