The Board of Control of India (BCCI) is not opposed to the idea of hiring a foreign coach for the senior men’s national team. Sources say the richest cricket board has approached CSK head coach Stephen Fleming and former SRH coach Tom Moody for the best position in the Indian cricket team. The BCCI is keen to sign Stephen Fleming as Rahul Dravid’s replacement and if the former Recent Zealand captain bids for the role, things will move forward.
BCCI has invited applications for the position of head coach role with an announcement on May 13, confirming that May 27 – the day after the IPL 2024 final – will be the deadline for submitting applications. According to board secretary Jay Shah, incumbent Rahul Dravid may run for the position again. However, the management board is inclined to bring a foreign coach on board. Dravid, who has been in the role since 2021, will come to an end after the T20 World Cup in the US and West Indies in June.
According to sources, Stephen Fleming is likely to apply for the position before the board’s cricket advisory committee (CAC) starts interviewing shortlisted candidates. Fleming’s success with Super Kings in the IPL is well documented. Joining the team as the team’s head coach in 2009, Fleming and MS Dhoni helped CSK transform into a winning machine. Fleming’s contribution was often overshadowed by MS Dhoni’s brilliance, but much credit was given to the former Recent Zealand captain for helping create a winning atmosphere at CSK. Tom Moody, on the other hand, was the head coach of the winning SRH IPL team in 2016.
Duncan Fletcher was the last foreign coach the senior national team had. His tenure came to an end after MS Dhoni’s side were eliminated from the semi-finals of the 2015 World Cup. India was wary of hiring foreign coaches after the Greg Chappell fiasco, but Gary Kirsten was hired in 2008 and the former South African cricketer played a key role in their historic triumph in the World Cup in 2011. Notably, Kirsten has been appointed as the head coach of the Pakistan senior men’s national team.
BCCI IS OPEN TO EMPLOY A FOREIGN COACH?
Notably, BCCI Secretary Jay Shah confirmed earlier this month that The management board would be open to hiring a foreign coach.
“We cannot say whether the recent coach will be from India or abroad. It will be up to the CAC and we are a global organization,” Jay Shah said.
The BCCI has fixed the tenure of the recent head coach for 3.5 years. This period will start from July 1, 2024 and end in December 2027. India is playing in the Champions Trophy in 2025 and the ODI World Cup in 2027 as well as the World Test Championship series during the said period.
Time will tell whether India will adopt the split coaching formula, given the growing gap in the skill sets needed for white and red ball cricket. England have Brendon McCullum for Tests and Matthew Mott for white-ball cricket, while Pakistan have Kirsten for white-ball cricket and Jason Gillespie for Test cricket.
