Team India has enjoyed success in bilateral series under the tutelage of head coach Rahul Dravid but the Men in Blue failed to win the 2022 T20 World Cup. Despite reaching the semi-final, India’s performance wasn’t at their best and they suffered a 10-wicket defeat against England in the semi-final. During the league stage, the Rohit Sharma-led side suffered a defeat against South Africa and was given a big scare by Bangladesh.
India’s performance in the tournament led to Harbhajan Singh asking for a separate T20I coach in Ashish Nehra. And the legendary India spinner has once again asked for having a specialist T20I coach for Team India.
Speaking at the Idea Exchange of The Indian Express, Harbhajan suggested two names who can be Team India’s T20I coach. Apart from Nehra, he also suggested the name of India legend Virender Sehwag.
“Yes, you have two captains, so you can have two coaches. Why not? Someone whose planning is different. Like England has done with Brendon McCullum. Someone like Virender Sehwag or Ashish Nehra who worked with Gujarat Titans and Hardik Pandya won his first tournament (IPL) as captain. So, bring someone who understands the concept of T20 and demands of the game,” Harbhajan said.
“The coach knows that focus is on T20 cricket. Say if Ashish Nehra is the T20 coach, then he knows that his job is to make the Indian team champions in the T20 format, and Rahul Dravid knows he has to work on how the Indian team can be No.1 in Tests and ODIs.”
Nehra enjoyed huge success as the head coach of Gujarat Titans in IPL 2022 and coached them to a title win. He became the first Indian head coach to lift the IPL trophy.
Sehwag, on the other hand, hasn’t quite enjoyed a memorable run as coach. Punjab Kings (formerly known as Kings XI Punjab) failed to clear the league stage of IPL even once during his stint as the team’s mentor.
Since India aren’t scheduled to play many T20I in 2023, the BCCI is unlikely to appoint any specialist T20I coach. The next T20 World Cup is slated to be played in 2024.
