The spat between the present Indian skipper Virat Kohli and coach Anil Kumble is getting more and more bitter with every passing day. Although Kumble deserves an extension based on what he has achieved with the Indian team in the past one year, the differences in opinion between him and the players may result in his ousting.
India reached new heights in world cricket during Kumble’s tenure. Kohli and co. won every series in the past one year bar the two-match T20I series against the Windies in the USA. That series loss was a bit unfortunate as the first match was washed out by rain and they lost the second match narrowly by just a run. Other than that, it has been plain sailing for Kumble.
It seemed that the team was responding to him well, however, no one could have predicted what was going on behind the scenes – a cold war between the skipper and the coach.
According to reports, the Indian team has been affected by the rift between those two individuals and the BCCI has chosen to replace Kumble with a new coach. Six candidates have been shortlisted for the post, however, there could have been better ones had they applied for the position. Here we take a look at five of them.
#1 Stephen Fleming
Fleming was one of the most prolific batsmen in New Zealand’s cricket history. 15,205 runs in 391 international matches that include 17 centuries and 95 half-centuries are a testimony to that fact. After retiring from international cricket, he played for the Chennai Super Kings in the inaugural edition of the IPL.
However, he retired from all forms of the sport the very next year and became the coach of the franchise. He spent six successful years with them, winning the IPL in 2010 and 2011 and also the CLT20 in 2010. After the CSK franchise was suspended from playing in the IPL for two years beginning from 2016, Fleming became the coach of the Rising Pune Supergiant.
The RPS franchise too made it to the finals of the IPL in the 2017 edition – in his second year as a coach. His coaching experience is not limited to just the IPL. He also coached the Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League after they signed him up for the role in 2015.
#2 Mahela Jayawardene
The Sri Lankan legend is fairly new to coaching but has enjoyed a fair bit of success in his short stint. He worked as the batting consultant of the England Cricket team post their 2015 World Cup debacle until the World T20 the following year. The transformation was visible as England are a totally different batting unit now.
He also enjoyed success in his first year as the coach of the IPL franchise Mumbai Indians as they went on to win the title this year. As a result of his success, the Bangladesh Premier League franchise Khulna Titans decided to appoint him as the head coach on a two-year basis, replacing Stuart Law.
#3 Peter Moores
A man with a controversial coaching career, Moores’ success has always been tainted by off the field issues. His coaching experiences have been mainly limited to England. He coached Sussex and Lancashire and won County titles with both of them. However, his career as an international coach of England was marred by controversy.
He was sacked after his rift with former England international Kevin Pietersen. It was then that he took over the position of head-coach at Lancashire and won the county title with them. He returned to the England coaching fold once again in 2014. However, he was sacked from his position after the World Cup 2015 debacle despite the fact that he had received backing from the players. At present, he is the head coach of the English County side Nottinghamshire.
#4 Ashley Giles
The former England spinner could have turned out to be a surprise package. His post-playing career started with becoming Warwickshire’s Director of Cricket in 2007. He was also named as the official spin coach in the England Performance Programme two months later.
During his tenure as a coach, Warwickshire won the Division Two County Championship in 2008, Pro 40 Division Two in 2009, CB40 in 2010 and also the Division One County Championship in 2012.
Success in the domestic circuit caught the attention of the ECB as they appointed him as England’s limited overs head-coach in 2012. After the end of his tenure in 2014, he went on to become the director and head coach of Lancashire CCC and reverted back to being the director of Warwickshire CCC in December 2016.
#5 Shane Warne
Unarguably the greatest leg-spinner in cricket history, Shane Warne could well have taken over the mantle from Anil Kumble. Although he doesn’t have much coaching experience, the one time that he did end up playing the role of both the captain and coach, it resulted in a title.
It was with the Rajasthan Royals in the inaugural edition of the IPL in 2008 that Warne achieved this feat. He is an absolute legend of the game and his presence in the dressing room can inspire players.
Spinners like Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin can achieve new heights learning the nitty-gritty of spin-bowling from the magician himself.
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