Former India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, who was part of the Indian squad that lifted the 2007 T20 World Cup, reckons that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) could appoint a separate coach for the shortest format of the game. Presently, Team India have only one coaching staff helmed by Rahul Dravid who is responsible for the team's performance in all the three formats but Harbhajan believes that someone who understands the demands of the T20 format could be be the best for the coaching job in T20I Internationals.
His comments come as the Men in Blue have not been able to win a single T20 World Cup since the inaugural edition. While they failed to even secure a place in the semifinals in 2021, they were knocked out from the semi-final stage post a loss to England last year. The 42-year-old, who is also a Member of Rajya Sabha, even suggested two names who could be best suited for jobs.
While he suggested that someone like Virender Sehwag can be a good candidate, he even picked Ashish Nehra who was the coach at Gujarat Titans when they won the Indian Premier League in their first-season itself in the competition last year.
"Yes, you have two captains, so you can have two coaches. Why not? Someone whose planning is different. Like England has done with Brendon McCullum. Someone like Virender Sehwag or Ashish Nehra who worked with Gujarat Titans and Hardik Pandya won his first tournament (IPL) as captain. So, bring someone who understands the concept of T20 and demands of the game," he said during an Idea Exchange session of The Indian Express.
"The coach knows that focus is on T20 cricket. Say if Ashish Nehra is the T20 coach, then he knows that his job is to make the Indian team champions in the T20 format, and Rahul Dravid knows he has to work on how the Indian team can be No.1 in Tests and ODIs," he added.
The veteran of over 100 Test matches announced his retirement from all forms of cricket in December 2021.