Former India opener and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) mentor Gautam Gambhir is currently the leading candidate for the role of head coach of India men's national cricket team. However, in a new development, another former India opener, WV Raman, is also reportedly being considered for the job now. Gambhir has served as a mentor for the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises Lucknow Super Giants and KKR, whereas Raman brings extensive coaching experience, spanning domestic cricket, the IPL and also the Indian women's cricket team.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is set to announce the new head coach soon, as Rahul Dravid's tenure concludes this month following India's campaign in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024. Gautam Gambhir has been a leading candidate for some time and remains the front-runner to replace Dravid. However, according to a report by News 18's CricketNext, WV Raman with his impressive coaching resume and thorough presentation during the interview with the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) also made a strong case.
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While Gambhir is still favoured for the role, Raman could also prove to be a significant contender.
Will India Have Gambhir & Raman Working Together?
Notably, Gautam Gambhir and WV Raman have previously worked together. In 2014, Raman joined KKR as a batting coach while Gambhir was leading the team. That year, KKR went on to win the tournament.
"The Indian cricket board must look at utilising the services of both Raman and Gambhir. There are numerous ways in which one can do that - say have Gambhir as head coach and Raman as batting coach or allow Raman to have more say in red ball. Lot of ways one can use them because both can benefit Indian cricket and that's what one should look at," News18 quoted a source as saying.
"Raman has seen these youngsters grow from close quarters when he filled in as coach during different U-19 and A series. He can be your right guy to handhold these players as the side is set to undergo a massive transition in the next couple of years. That is likely to begin in T20s after the World Cup and ODIs, Tests will witness that too in next 12-15 months," added the source.
Will India Adopt Split-Coaching System?
The prospect of Gautam Gambhir and WV Raman being sought after for the coaching role of the Indian cricket team begs a question — is the BCCI looking to have two different coaches for multiple formats?
Several high-profile candidates, such as Ricky Ponting, Justin Langer, Andy Flower and Michael Hussey, withdrew from the race for India's head coach position, citing the demanding schedule of coaching the team for ten months a year with constant travel. This has sparked discussions about adopting a split-coaching system, where different coaches handle white-ball and red-ball formats.
While teams like England, West Indies, South Africa and Pakistan have embraced this approach, India have not done this so far.
Anil Kumble's Take On Prospect Of Split-Coaching
Anil Kumble, former India coach, recently acknowledged the challenges of the demanding schedule, suggesting that certain tours should be prioritised to manage workload. However, he emphasised the importance of a unified direction and vision for the team across all formats, cautioning that different coaches could lead to inconsistencies. Kumble also mentioned that if the BCCI is considering split-coaching, it should have announced this before advertising the position.
"I certainly believe that it is not easy, doing a 10-month job with the Indian team. They are literally on the road, day in day out. It's not easy to be travelling so many number of days and be with the team. It certainly gets to you as an individual. So I think, it needs to be taken into account and probably prioritise certain tours," Anil Kumble told ESPNcricinfo.
"You also need to have the larger vision built in into the system and then try and get that person also to follow the same line because you don't want two different people going in two different directions. Because no matter what the format is, you want the Indian team to be going in one direction," said Kumble.