New Delhi: Gautam Gambhir is having a hard time finalising his support staff. Unlike his predecessors, he has so far faced resistance from the BCCI for the majority of his preferences. Morne Morkel was reportedly the latest of his recommendations as the bowling coach to be turned down by the board.
This was Gambhir’s third pick as the bowling coach, which the BCCI rejected. The previous two were reportedly R Vinay Kumar and Laximipathy Balaji. The two former Indian quicks were not approved in the first round of discussions between the board and the new head coach of Team India.
Bowling coach is not the only discipline in which the board has rejected Gambhir’s recommendations. Two of Gambhir’s picks as the fielding coach—Ryan ten Doeschate and Jonty Rhodes—were also turned down.
Among Gambhir’s preferences, only former India all-rounder Abhishek Nayar appears to be in favourable condition to join his support staff either as an assistant coach or a batting coach. Nothing has been finalised yet, but multiple media reports suggest that the former Mumbai cricketer, who has made a name for himself by transforming the careers of Dinesh Karthik and Shreyas Iyer, is likely to get the nod.
While there are no doubts about the individual capacity of the candidates rejected by the board, the only chord that binds them with Gambhir is the Kolkata Knight Riders. Gambhir either captained them or worked with them as a member of the coaching staff of KKR, and ten Doeschate’s case, he did both.
Morkel, Balaji, and Vinay Kumar played three seasons each for KKR under Gambhir’s captaincy. Nayar is the only one who didn’t play under Gambhir in KKR but was the assistant coach of the franchise Gambhir mentored this year to the IPL title.
BCCI outrightly rejects five of Gautam Gambhir’s picks as coaching staff members
