Former India cricketer believes Virender Sehwag is the best man to take over from Anil Kumble as coach of the Indian cricket team.
Chopra who expressed his disappointment over Kumble”s decision to quit as team India”s head coach added, if it was anyone who could fill in the void created by Kumble, then Virender Sehwag was the ideal replacement.
Chopra: Sehwag is Kumble”s ideal replacement
Chopra felt both Sehwag and Kumble were very similar in the way they go about doing their job adding both of them are straightforward in their actions. According to Chopra, Virender Sehwag would fit in perfectly as the next one to take up the responsibility. Chopra added Anil Kumble was a disciplined man and felt Sehwag was at par with Jumbo.
“I don’t know what the inside issues are but it’s a big loss,” said Nikhil in an interview with Indian Express. “I don’t know how many people have applied for the job but if it is true that Kumble has resigned, then I would like to see Virender Sehwag,” added Chopra. “Anil Kumble always had great work ethics,” “He is one guy who has always been straight and upfront.”.
On the similarity between Sehwag and Kumble:
43-year-old Chopra backed Viru to make an impact as a coach for team India. Chopra felt, Indian cricket needed someone who was upfront and honest and that”s why Viru was the best fit. Speaking about Viru, Chopra said “another person who is very upfront, straight, honest, calling a spade on the face.” “You need people like that to run Indian cricket.”
Nikhil Chopra: Time for tough decision
Indian cricket will have their sights set on the 2019 Wolrd Cup and in the lead up to that, a lot of grooming and preparation will go into it. Chopra believes the time is right to take some tough decision in Indian cricket.
“This is probably the hardest time, the next couple of years,” he said, “You have to take decisions on some of the seniors if they are going to be around for the 2019 World Cup. If you don’t see some seniors being part of the 2019 World Cup then we have got to give opportunities to some youngsters. So some tough decisions have to be taken.”
Dodda Ganesh, Tom Moody, Richard Pybus and Lalchand Rajput are the other names available to the BCCI. Meanwhile, MV Sridhar will take care of the position for the upcoming West Indies tour as announced by the BCCI.
