The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has started its search for the new head coach of India’s Men’s Cricket Team. The Board has come to this decision as the contract of the current head coach Rahul Dravid will end with the conclusion of the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2024 in June.
BCCI invited applications for the position of head coach with an official media release on Monday, May 13. There are a few big names in contention for this role, including former Indian cricketers and foreign coaches as well.
With that said, here we’ll have a look at the 3 reasons why India should pick a foreign coach for India’s head coach role
Here’s a look 3 reasons for picking a foreign coach as Team India’s head coach:
The change of tactics with an aggressive approach in major ICC tournaments
Notably, the teams in the sub-continent, including India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh have been seen with a defensive approach on most of the occasions in international cricket or the major ICC tournaments. So, having a local coach might bring the same mindset of a defensive approach to the team.
To improve the team’s performance, a foreign coach could be effective in bringing out the best of the players with an aggressive approach; it might be useful in bilateral assignments against big teams like England or Australia or participating in ICC events.
Responsibility and accountability for the team’s performance
Besides Rahul Dravid’s responsible approach, a lot of Indian coaches or former Indian cricketers as head coaches had been seen quite away from the question of responsibility and accountability for the performance of the team in the major tournaments.
So, having a foreign coach will also bring a sense of responsibility and accountability for the performance of the team in the World Cups or the bigger bilateral assignments.
Past Success with Gary Kirsten in ODI World Cup 2011 and Champions Trophy 2013 with Duncan Fletcher
For a fact, India hasn’t won any ICC tournament since the former Indian cricketers started getting appointed as the ‘head coach’ of the senior men’s team. But before that in 2013 and 2011, the men in blue achieved some fantastic results with the foreign coaches.
The first example was the former stylish South Africa batter Gary Kirsten who guided MS Dhoni-led Team India to win the ICC ODI World Cup 2011, which was India’s ODI World Cup win after a long wait of 28 years. Just two years later, the Indian team clinched the ICC Champions Trophy in 2013 under the coaching of Duncan Fletcher.