BCCI Rejects Five of Gautam Gambhir’s Coaching Staff Picks

Gautam Gambhir is finding it difficult to choose his support personnel. In contrast to his predecessors, he has encountered opposition from the BCCI for most of his requests thus far. According to reports, the board rejected his most recent recommendation, Morne Morkel, to be the bowling coach.

Gambhir was anxious to have the former South African fast on his coaching team. The speedster is presently working with the Lucknow Super Giants of the Indian Premier League and was the bowling coach for Pakistan during the World Cup of last year. But The Economic Times reports that Gambhir’s suggestion was turned down by the BCCI.

Gambhir was denied by the BCCI on his third attempt to become the bowling coach. According to reports, R Vinay Kumar and Laximipathy Balaji were the prior two. In the initial round of talks between the board and Team India’s new head coach, the two former Indian quicks were not approved.

READ MORE: Ex-BCCI Chief Selector Critiques Shubman Gill’s Performance

Only former India all-rounder Abhishek Nayar seems to be in a good enough shape to be an assistant coach or batting coach on Gambhir’s support staff. Although nothing is official yet, there are several media rumors 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.

Influence of Personal Connections and Legacy at KKR

The Kolkata Knight Riders are the only thing that unites the candidates dismissed by the board with Gambhir, despite their being no question about their individual abilities. In the instance 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.

The BCCI often allows the head coach complete discretion when choosing his support personnel. This has long been the norm. It was not uncommon for Greg Chappell and Gary Kirsten to appoint relatively unknown cricketers such as Ian Frazer and Paddy Upton to their support teams.

During the tenures of Rahul Dravid, Ravi Shastri, and Anil Kumble, not much changed. In actuality, Shastri ignored the suggestions of the Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, and VVS Laxman-led Cricket Advisory Committee at the time and proceeded with his selection of support staff personnel. Additionally, Dravid chose T Dilip to coach fielding and bowling, and Paras Mhambrey to instruct bowling. At the NCA, he had collaborated with them.