3 former players who are currently coaching their international teams

The trend of foreign coaches handling an international side seems to be on the wane with a few former cricketers coaching their own international teams.

For a long time, India persisted with foreign coaches after the success of John Wright. Following Wright’s tenure, it was Gary Kirsten and then Duncan Fletcher who coached the Men in Blue successfully for a considerable amount of time.

Teams like Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Pakistan, West Indies are looking to hire their own countrymen now as head coaches. They feel their own former players would understand the psyche of the players more easily than a foreign coach.

England have adopted the split coaching option with different coaches for Tests and white-ball cricket.

Coaching at the highest level is more about managing a team rather than teaching them the nuances of cricket.

For someone who is already playing international cricket, it is more about managing that player's personality rather than tweaking the techniques.

The local coaches have managed to communicate with the players in a better way. Even in the ongoing IPL, we have witnessed Chandrakant Pandit being appointed as the head coach of the Kolkata Knight Riders.

A highly successful coach in domestic cricket, Pandit got a huge opportunity to coach a top-level side.

Getting into this subject further, let us have a look at 3 former players who are currently coaching their own former international teams.

#1 Rahul Dravid - India

One of the finest servants of Indian cricket, Rahul Dravid was appointed as India’s head coach after the 2021 T20 World Cup, when Ravi Shastri’s contract came to an end.

Sourav Ganguly, the then BCCI president, played a significant role in Dravid becoming the head coach. Under his leadership, India has won several bilateral series but the elusive global title is yet to come their way. India crashed out of the 2022 T20 World Cup after getting thrashed by England in the semi-final.

He will get an opportunity to set the record straight when India meets Australia in the WTC final, beginning June 7.

Dravid has faced criticism from every quarter but everything can change if India manages to win the WTC, or even the World Cup slated to be played in India later this year.

#2 Andrew McDonald - Australia

Andrew McDonald played 4 Tests for Australia.

After the resignation of Justin Langer as the head coach of Australia back in February 2022, former Aussie all-rounder Andrew McDonald took over. He was first made the interim head coach before getting a full-time four-year contract in a couple of months' time.

McDonald served as Australia’s assistant coach from 2019 and he was an automatic choice when Langer resigned. McDonald couldn’t quite make it big as a player but his coaching attributes can be termed as impactful.

He played just four Tests for Australia during his career and got nine wickets, alongside a half-century to his name. McDonald will be hoping that Australia become the World Test champions when they meet India in the WTC final.

#3 Gary Stead - New Zealand

Gary Stead was appointed as New Zealand's head coach in 2018.

The former New Zealand batter was appointed as the head coach of New Zealand in August 2018 and has marshalled his troops well. Under his tutelage, the Kiwis almost won their first World Cup back in 2019.

After that heartbreak, they finally managed to win a World Championship when they defeated India in the final of the WTC, in 2021.

Under his leadership, New Zealand also reached the final of the 2021 T20 World Cup, where they lost to Australia.

A top-order batter in his day, Stead played only five Tests for New Zealand back in 1999. He was a successful coach of New Zealand’s women’s team before succeeding Mike Hesson as the head coach of the men’s team.