Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh has called for split coaching for the Indian team. Singh wants the BCCI to either appoint Virender Sehwag or Ashish Nehra as the team’s coach for the T20I format.
Hardik Pandya has been leading the T20 team in the absence of Rohit Sharma in the recent past. Pandya had led Gujarat Titans to glory in his maiden season as a leader with Ashish Nehra as the head coach.
The Turbanator cited England’s example as the Three Lions have Brendon McCullum as their Test team’s coach whereas Matthew Mott is the team’s limited-overs head coach.
“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.
“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,” said Harbhajan while talking to Hindustan Times.
Harbhajan Singh urged the Indian team to be more aggressive in their approach and come up with a collective show in the major ICC events to savor success.
“I think we need to show a little more intent. If you are playing T20s then you can’t play it like a one-day match. If you are playing one day, you can’t play it like a Test match. We can’t be dependent on two-three players to win you the championship. When you have a World Cup in front of you, you need eight to nine guys performing at the same time. One or two players can win you matches, but it is the team that can win you the tournament,” said Harbhajan.
India is currently leading by 2-0 against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar series. The third Test match will be played at the Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore from March 1.
