After enduring two straight T20I losses against Ireland and England respectively, a big reshuffle could take place in the Indian team management, as one senior member of Gautam Gambhir's staff could leave the side despite still having time left on his contract. As per the recent media claims, the suspected coach has already been in conversation with an IPL franchise that has presence in various leagues across the world. However, another staff member's future at the Indian side remains unclear.
Big change incoming?
According to a latest report by the Times of India, this is not mere an instant reaction after the two back-to-back series losses against Ireland and England. On the contrary, The move is being in the developments for several months.
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When Gambhir took charge of the coaching role at the senior Indian men's team just after the 2024 T20 World Cup triumph, he gathered Ryan ten Doeschate and Abhishek Nayar as assistant coaches before Morne Morkel joined as bowling coach. All three of them penned two-year contracts with an option of one-year extension.
Everyone from Gambhir's initial staff had worked with the former KKR captain in the IPL. Because of this, it was said that all the appointments were Gambhir's picks. However, after the failure in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Abhishek Nayar was sacked and Sitanshu Kotak was appointed as the batting coach of the side.
The recent developments have also sparked fresh debate over the BCCI's decision to give the coaching duties of Indian team to VVS Laxman for the upcoming T20I series against Zimbabwe and Asian Games, instead of going with Gautam Gambhir's full-time staff. At the same time, Sairaj Bahutle's active role with the Indian team has backed the speculation that BCCI could be considering changes to the current coaching staff.
With the ongoing wind, India's team management cold witness some significant changes before the Test series against Sri Lanka, with any departures expected to pave the way for a fresh-look coaching setup.
Who could leave the Indian team?
Although the report did not hit any particular, questions had already been raised last year about the futures of bowling coach Morne Morkel and assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate during India's struggling period in Test cricket.
As per the report, the locker room is filled with disagreements over the squad selection between the coaching staff and selection committee. It further claimed that the atmosphere inside the camp has taken a negative turn since India's two-Test home series loss against South Africa.