The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is set to conduct a review of the Indian men’s white-ball set-up in August, after the conclusion of the ongoing three-T20I series against Zimbabwe. The board will host a meeting at its Mumbai office; head coach Gautam Gambhir, T20I captain Shreyas Iyer, ODI and Test skipper Shubman Gill and Centre of Excellence chief VVS Laxman are all set to be involved.
The review was necessitated after the team produced one of its worst away tours in a long time. This included a 2-0 series whitewash against a second-string Ireland team, despite Shreyas Iyer leading a full-strength Indian side in his first series, a 4-0 T20I series defeat in England where the team selection was a major concern, and the 2-1 drubbing
in ODIs to the Three Lions.
“We will conduct a review of India’s tours of England, Ireland and Zimbabwe in the first part of August,” BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia told the media on Saturday. “It could be at the beginning of August. Some of the contracts (of the Team India support staff) have expired. We will review it. In our review meeting, we will discuss everything, including what are the things that went wrong in England. The review meeting will be held after our team returns from Zimbabwe.”
As per several reports, the BCCI is unlikely to take any knee-jerk decisions. That should mean Gambhir, Shreyas, and Gill’s jobs are safe.
Gambhir has been regularly criticised throughout the tour, with his selections and the treatment of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Sanju Samson in England being a particular stick being used to beat him up. However, his contract runs till 2027, putting any more pressure on him, or Gill for that matter, amid the buildup for the 2027 World Cup would likely prove counter-productive.
Shreyas’s captaincy stint couldn’t have had a worse start. But that’s what it is — a start, and he’ll likely get a big rope after replacing Suryakumar Yadav.
Ryan ten Doeschate or T Dilip – who will stay?
It was recently revealed that in the Indian team, assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate and fielding coach T Dilip had basically the same role. Two international coaches are being paid for the same thing, amid a tussle between Gambhir to support ten Doeschate and the BCCI backing Dilip.
Now, with India’s fielding a serious concern, this situation will need to be resolved. One of them has to go, and it’ll likely be ten Doeschate, who is reportedly courting interest from IPL franchises. The contract of Morne Morkel, who joined the team alongside ten Doeschate and Abhishek Nayar (already sacked), would also be discussed, but it might not be wise to let him go ahead of a World Cup in his home country.
Recent appointments like batting coach Sitanshu Kotak and spin coach Sairaj Bahutule should be safe.
