A lot depends on who will be the leader in a dressing room filled with cricketing superstars.
Gautam Gambhir is unsurprisingly at the top of the list of candidates to be the next head coach of the men's cricket team, given what he has achieved in his first season as mentor of the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League. A former top-order batsman who has led India at times, Gambhir is known for his motivational and management skills. However, success at franchise level does not necessarily translate to glory in international cricket. There are several uncapped players in the IPL team who look up to figures like Gambhir. Overseas players are generally professionals who play in leagues around the world and are more likely to follow instructions.
But the Indian dressing room is packed with superstars, many of whom played alongside Gambhir in his first few years in international cricket and the IPL. While professionalism dictates that personal likes and dislikes should not get in the way of the team's goals, an effective working relationship between coach and veteran players is advisable. Take the examples of Greg Chappell in India and more recently Justin Langer in Australia. A winning dressing room is a happy dressing room and vice versa.
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The lack of many big foreign names competing for the India coach position indicates that it is no longer as glamorous as it once was, despite the name recognition and financial rewards. Players like Stephen Fleming, Rick Ponting, Andy Flower and Langer are reluctant to be considered despite being part of IPL teams. They are paid handsomely by their franchises and do not devote much time to the job. The pressure and commitment required in the Indian team would be on another level. Most of these former cricketers have families and after spending a large part of their careers on the road, they do not want to be away from them for 10-12 months of the year.
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First uploaded: January 6, 2024, 6:50 AM