The buzz around senior Indian men’s cricket team head coach is increasing day by day. While current coach Rahul Dravid has reportedly expressed his unwillingness to continue with the job, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) invited applications with a deadline of May 27. Since then, many high-profile names have been doing the rounds as having been approached by the board to take over from Dravid post the upcoming 2024 T20 World Cup.
Sri Lankan legend Mahela Jayawardene’s name also started doing the rounds for the head coach post, following ex-cricketers Stephen Fleming, Gautam Gambhir and Harbhajan Singh. However, as per a report in IANS news agency, Jayawardene “hasn’t applied nor has been approached for the top job and is currently happy at the Mumbai Indians (MI) set-up.”
Notably, Jayawardene is serving as MI’s global head of performance. Under his coaching, Mumbai won the IPL thrice in 2017, 2019 and 2020. In addition, he is also in charge for the coaching and scouting of MI franchises in various global T20 leagues, such as the SA20 and ILT20.
Moreover, the former Lankan captain also served as a consultant for Sri Lanka men’s team in their recent World Cup campaigns.
Recently, even former Australian opener and coach Justin Langer’s name was associated with the India coaching job. Langer, under whom Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) failed to qualify for IPL 2024 playoffs, however, ruled himself out of being in the reckoning.
After LSG’s campaign ended in this year’s IPL, Langer said, “It would almost be the biggest job in cricket – being the head coach of the Indian cricket team. One, because of the huge volume of cricket, the huge expectation. It would be a great challenge. It would be great fun and it would be a wonderful opportunity to win ICC titles.”
“But with all these things, the timing has got to be right. I did four or so years with the Australian cricket team. It is all encompassing. It is exhausting. Rahul Dravid will probably tell you the same thing and Ravi Shastri will probably tell you the same thing. The pressure on winning for the Indian team is massive. I’m sure the next person who gets the job will be really looking forward to the project,” he added.
Dravid’s last assignment as India coach is the forthcoming 2024 T20 WC, in West Indies and USA in June. Thus, BCCI is eager to finalise a name soon. Reportedly, the board is willing to offer the new coach a contract till the 2027 ODI World Cup.
