Team India has been a force to reckon with in the last couple of years. While most of the credit has gone to skipper Virat Kohli, head coach Ravi Shastri has also done a formidable job behind the curtains to keep the players motivated and keep going over the years.
Under his tenure, India defeated the Aussies in their own backyard in the 2018-19 series. Moreover, the tri-colour cemented its position in the semi-finals of the World Cup 2019 held in England and Wales. While the Indian cricketers have look indomitable in bilateral series, Ravi Shastri & Co is yet to guide India to an ICC title. The last time, they won an ICC championship was under MS Dhoni in 2013 when they lifted the ICC Champions Trophy in England.
On that note, BCCI will look to keep their eyes on some of the high-profile coaches as Shastri’s term comes to an end at the end of the 2021 T20 World Cup scheduled to take place in India. It is unlikely that the apex body will agree for a third term to Ravi Shastri and instead will look for a fresh face in the hot seat.
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On that note let us take a look at 5 potential candidates who can replace incumbent Ravi Shastri as the head coach of Team India:
1. Tom Moody
The former Australia cricketer Tom Moody is among the most respected coaches across the globe. He has a fair knowledge about Indian cricket having been associated with IPL franchises over the years and is no new to handling big names. Sunrisers Hyderabad have delivered a consistent performance under Moody over the years.
Known for his man-management skills, Tom Moody had also helped Sri Lanka reach the World Cup finals in 2007. His recent success speaks for himself and with the kind of expertise and experience, he is one of the best candidates to replace Ravi Shastri in that hot chair.
Moody recently once again joined Hyderabad as the Director for Cricket ahead of IPL 2021 after stepping down as the head coach at the end of the 2019 season. With vast experience of Indian cricket, Moody is best suited to take up the job.
2. Rahul Dravid
The former India cricketer Rahul Dravid has been associated with India’s junior system and the domestic circuit for quite some time now. He is the head of cricket at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru and Dravid works to bridge the gap between domestic and international cricket creating a pool of cricketers ensuring India have solid bench strength.
Under his direction, the Prithvi Shaw-led team triumphed the coveted prize in New Zealand. The likes of Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer’s have honed their skills under Dravid’s watchful eyes at the NCA. As a result, his potential remains unmatched and unrivalled.
The Wall, as he is widely known, has scored over 23000 international runs across the formats and brings in vast experiences of international cricket. Recently, there were claims from certain sections to send in Rahul Dravid to Australia after India’s recent debacle in the Adelaide Test which has brought the former cricketer in fray for the national team’s job. It will interesting to see whether the talisman unwinds similar magic in the senior team amidst all the pressure.
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3. Virender Sehwag
Former Team India opener Virender Sehwag was one of the frontrunners for the job in previous recruitment times. There were a lot of confusions about his application when Ravi Shastri was handed a second time by the Kapil Dev-led Cricket Advisory Committee. But the former cricketer remains a hot contender to take up the job when Shastri’s tenure comes to an end.
Post-retirement, Sehwag has been a mentor to Kings XI Punjab in 2016 before becoming the franchise’s head of operations in 2019. Although he has stepped down from the post, the cricketer-turned-commentator has closely followed Indian cricket and has expressed his views on various social media platforms.
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Meanwhile, there is a section of people, who opposed that recruitment. While his one-liners have earned him enough fans in social media, his lack of coaching expertise might actually go against him, especially with experienced candidates in the scheme of things.
4. Mahela Jayawardene
Sri Lankan great Mahela Jayawardene has been one of the formidable match-winners for his country and was best to snatch matches from the jaws of defeat. During his playing days, the right-handed batsman has piled 11,000 odd runs in red-ball cricket and 12,650 runs in the ODI format of the game.
Since hanging the boots, Jayawardene has been associated with Mumbai Indians in the IPL. He has played a significant role in guiding Mumbai to four three IPL titles. During his tenure, the former Sri Lankan has moulded the likes of Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah into international stars. The 43-year-old has good knowledge of Indian cricket having spend with a number of Indian cricketers at the Mumbai camp.
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Reports stated that Mahela Jayawardene had applied for the high-profile post that last time BCCI came out with a tender for the head coach role. It will be interesting to see if his man-management and game reading skills impresses BCCI’s top-brass officials this time around.
5. Trevor Bayliss
The former Australian cricketer failed to grab the limelight during his playing day. However, Trevor Bayliss is currently one of the best coaches around and his technical analysis and man-management skills are absolutely spot on.
Bayliss took over from Steve Rixon as New South Wales coach in 2004-05. He experienced immediate success by guiding the side to the Sheffield Shield title and since then, has a number of titles under his belt. However, his personal high came when he guided England to the World Cup title in 2019. It came as a sweet victory as he built the ODI team after bowing out of the tournament from the group stages in 2015.
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He has also fair experiences of coaching in the IPL. The 58-year will certainly be keen to put his coaching skills under closed scrutiny by taking up the job of Team India’s head coach in the coming years.