The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) isn’t too pleased with Team India’s support staff. Despite being a team in transition, the performance has been underwhelming. A first-ever whitewash in India’s Test cricket history, which was followed by failure to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after 10 years.
The young team has done well in the India vs England Test series, but they aren’t going to win it. BCCI isn’t impressed with what the support staff has done. After naming Gautam Gambhir India’s head coach in July last year, the returns in Test cricket have been abysmal.
Gambhir brought in Ryan ten Doeschate and Abhishek Nayar. Both worked with him during his Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 stint with the Kolkata Knight Riders. Morne Morkel was added after a Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) job in IPL 2023 and 2024. All three were named assistant coaches. But it was clear that Morkel was the bowling coach, Nayar the batting, and ten Doeschate a mental coach.
India’s assistant coaches out after Asia Cup
Nayar has already been removed after 7 months. And Morkel and ten Doeschate are on their way out. According to The Telegraph, the BCCI will axe both of the remaining assistant coaches. The main reason has been the tactics and team selection during the last three tours.
Main bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj have been overworked. This happened in Australia, but the management didn’t learn from their mistake, and the same has continued in England. Siraj has bowled more overs than Ravindra Jadeja. Bumrah has bowled 119.4 overs, the third most for India.
Kuldeep Yadav, one of the best natural wicket-takers, hasn’t played a game despite the pitches being flat and even providing help to spinners. Gill’s tactics, like not bowling Washington Sundar until the 69th over, have raised questions over Gambhir and the support staff’s ability to help a young captain.
“The coaches always talk of balance, but keeping a world-class wrist spinner like Kuldeep Yadav out has had disastrous consequences,” the source said.
Morkel and ten Doeschate are expected to be sacked irrespective of the outcome of the India vs England Test series. They might survive until the Asia Cup 2025, since the performances in white-ball cricket have been fine. But before India’s next Test series, West Indies at home in October, both will be gone.
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