Gautam Gambhir replaced Rahul Dravid as the Head Coach of the Indian team and the veteran had reportedly demanded the particular coaching setup from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). First, he reportedly requested management recruit Morne Morkel and Abhishek Nayar as the bowling and batting coaches, respectively.
As per reports, BCCI has quashed six demands of his including the above-mentioned. Notably, Gambhir had previously vouched for Vinay Kumar and Laximipathy Balaji as the bowling coaches and the management withheld the request during the first round of discussions. Moreover, the former India opener presented the options of having Ryan ten Doeschate and Jonty Rhodes as fielding coaches, which was eventually turned down. It is worth noting that, Vinay and Balaji have played under Gambhir for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the coveted Indian Premier League (IPL).
Nayar could be the one who can rise above the rumours and find a place in the Indian coaching staff. He has played just three ODIs for India and has raised to the echelons in the coaching realm, fitting his position as the assistant coach and talent scout for KKR in the IPL. He is credited for the resurgence of players like Dinesh Karthik and Shreyas Iyer. Moreover, he is touted as the one who spotted and guided rising talent, Rinku Singh.
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Head Coaches had their choices considered previously
Contrary to the recent developments regarding Gautam Gambhir’s demands, the former India coaches have always had their say and choices kept straight for preferred individuals as coaching staff. For instance, Ravi Shastri was not on the same page as the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, and VVS Laxman for the coaching staff and had his priorities. The present bowling and fielding coach of India, Paras Mhambrey, and T Dilip were the picks of Dravid.