Worsts and Bests - Rating top 5 coaches of Team India so far with team's performances

The entire discourse of Indian cricket is currently centred on only one debate around the question ‘Who is going to succeed Rahul Dravid as Team India’s head coach?’  A lot of discussions, debates and suggestions are making rounds both in the mainstream and social media since BCCI invited applications for the position of India’s head coach.

Notably, the contract of the current head coach Rahul Dravid will end with the conclusion of the highly anticipated upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2024, in the USA and West Indies.

With that said, here we’ll have a look at and rate the performances of the top 5 head coaches with the team’s performances during their tenure.

Here’s a look at the performances of the top 5 head coaches for India:

5. Greg Chappell

It was only the second time in 2005 when BCCI roped in a foreign after the end of former Kiwi great John Wright’s successful tenure. This time in 2005, BCCI batted on the former Aussie stalwart Greg Chappell in the hope of Team India getting new heights under his guidance.

But out of everyone’s expectations, it happened to be proved as one of the ‘horrible phases’ in the history of Indian cricket. Chappell’s tenure was full of controversies, including his visible and open conflicts with then-skipper Sourav Ganguly. His decision to bench skipper Ganguly also received a huge backlash from Indian cricket fans. The team was also divided into groups with a ‘sense of fear’ among players.

Statistically, Chappell’s tenure could be said as an ‘average one’ as he won 32 matches out of 62 matches with 27 defeats in ODIs. There were a lot of players who flopped and struggled during Greg Chappell’s tenure. It can be rated one of the ‘worst coach experiences’ for Team India as they faced a lot of inconsistency during the Chappell era.

4. Rahul Dravid – 2021-2023

The former India skipper and one of the all-time batting greats, Rahul Dravid took over the ‘head coach’ responsibility for Team India in November 2021. Initially, his contract was supposed to be ended after the conclusion of the ODI World Cup 2023. But the board still invested trust in him after India’s ‘Final’ defeat against Australia in the ODI WC 2023.

Dravid’s coaching has been like a ‘so close yet so far’ kind of phase for Team India as they made it to the knockouts of several major ICC tournaments but failed to get results in their favour, be it ICC T20 World Cup 2022 Semi-Final, WTC 2023 Final, and ODI World Cup 2023 Final. However, India gained the No. 1 position in both Tests and ODIs under the leadership of the Rahul-Rohit duo so, the ‘Rahul-Dravid’ era so far can be rated as a ‘bit more than average’ with ICC T20 World Cup 2024 remaining to be played.

3. John Wright – 2000-2005

It was for the first time in the history of Indian cricket when BCCI decided to ahead with a foreign name as the ‘head coach’ of India’s Senior Men’s Cricket Team. The name was none other than former New Zealand great John Wright who successfully served for 5 years, the longest-ever tenure of any ‘India head coach’ with the national side.

Under the able leadership of the then-skipper Sourav Ganguly and coach John Wright, India achieved a good number of successes away from home conditions; it also included the notable appearance of the men in blue in the ODI World Cup 2003 Final against Australia.

Speaking of Wright’s numbers as ‘India head coach’, the team won 21 Tests out of 52 they played under his coaching, alongside 68 wins in 130 ODIs, which can be considered a good success ratio.

2. Duncan Fletcher – 2011-2015

After India’s massive success in the home ODI World Cup 2011, where they clinched the title after defeating Sri Lanka in the Final, the former Zimbabwean star Duncan Fletcher, around the middle of 2011, succeeded the World Cup champion coach Gary Kirsten. Fletcher served in the position for four years till 2015, including the ODI World Cup 2015.

Under Fletcher’s Coaching, India became the champions in the ICC Champions Trophy 2013 followed by reaching the Final and Semi-final in the T20 World Cup 2014 and ODI World Cup 2015, respectively. Looking at his numbers, Fletcher won 13 Tests, 65 ODIs and 25 T20Is for India as ‘head coach’, alongside having MS Dhoni as the skipper of the team. His tenure can be rated as ‘one of the best’ among all the head coaches who have served the national Indian side so far.

1. Gary Kirsten – 2008-2011

Probably, the phase in which the national side of India ticked the boxes which were left during the tenure of John Wright-Sourav Ganguly. The former stylish South Africa batter Gary Kirsten was appointed as the third foreign head coach of India in 2008. He served for 3 years till the 2011 ODI World Cup.

Under the Kirsten-Dhoni duo, India achieved some major milestones, including being the number 1 Test team for the first time, in 2009. The major highlight of Kirsten’s coaching tenure was the ODI World Cup 2011, in which India won the World Cup after a long wait of 28 years since 1983.

The successful pair of Kirsten and Dhoni won 16 Tests for India out of 33 Tests, alongside 59 ODIs out of 93 matches and 9 T20Is out of 18 matches. The ‘India coaching era’ of former Proteas great is undoubtedly the ‘best’ phase for any head coach of India since the John Wright era, including both foreign and local coaches.