Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid again failed to bring home an ICC title as they lost the World Test Championship final against Australia by 209. Frustration has emerged among Indian fans as the team has continuously failed to get that last step multiple times in the last decade. The fans are calling for the sacking of the coach Rahul Dravid, blaming him for the team’s failures and many ex-cricketers are in the run for the job.
Rahul Dravid’s tenure as the Indian team’s coach has not gone the way everybody had hoped as India failed to get to the final of the Asia Cup 2022, lost in the semifinals of the 2022 T20I World Cup, and now lost in the WTC final. Dravid’s future with the team is currently under doubt after multiple failures.
Here are three former cricketers who can become India’s coach:
1) Stephen Fleming
Popularly called the “best captain in World cricket” by the likes of Shane Warne, the Kiwi was an excellent strategist as a captain and has transferred his success to coaching. After retiring in 2009, he was immediately handed the coaching job at the IPL franchise, Chennai Super Kings, and has led them to five titles and multiple runner-up finishes in his 12 years of coaching with the team. During CSK’s two-year suspension, he coached Rising Pune Super Giants, and they finished runners-up in one of the two seasons. If the board can bring the serial winner in, it will certainly help the mentality in the dressing room and could bring us trophies. One disadvantage here is that Fleming has never coached an international side and doesn’t have experience coaching year-round.
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2)Ashish Nehra
Ashish Nehra has been one of the revelations of IPL among coaches as ‘Nehraji’, as he is lovingly called, has just made Gujarat Titans a different beast in the IPL. In the two seasons since the franchise was introduced, they have won the title once and reached the finals both times. Under a very young and inexperienced captain, Hardik Pandya, Nehra has managed to groom him into a possible Indian captain too. The duo can come together for the Indian team too hoping to replicate their success in the IPL. Nehra had a brief stint with the Royal Challengers Bangalore as a bowling coach when he vastly improved their young bowling setup. Nehra is inexperienced but a very loved character among fans and players alike and could succeed as the Indian coach.
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3) Justin Langer
Justin Langer is one of the many names floating among the fans and deservedly so as the former Australian opener took the Australian team from the trenches after the ‘sandpaper gate’ and rebuild the team from scratch. The Indian team is in a similar need as the majority of the core of the national team is on the wrong side of the 30s and choosing the correct youngsters will ensure that we get back up as quickly as possible. Langer led the Australian side to victory in the 2021 T20 World Cup and the 2021-22 Ashes series. According to various reports, he left the job because of some disagreements with the players and if he becomes the ICT coach it could not turn out right because of the big egos in the dressing room. It has happened in the past with Anil Kumble and repeating history is not wise.
These are some of the possible contenders to replace Dravid as the Men in Blue’s coach when his term ends but there may be other names that emerge in the coming weeks, depending on their performance and availability. Ultimately, the decision will depend on the BCCI and the Cricket Advisory Committee, who will have to choose the best person for the job and not repeat the same mistakes.
