In a major development, the BCCI has rejected Gautam Gambhir's suggestion of Jonty Rhodes for the fielding coach position, following the refusal of Vinay Kumar as the bowling coach.
After Gambhir was appointed as India's new head coach, with a unanimous recommendation from the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), attention turned to the selection of support staff. Similar to his predecessor Rahul Dravid, the terms of India's batting coach Vikram Rathour, bowling coach Paras Mhambrey, and fielding coach T Dilip ended with the T20 World Cup.
While the BCCI typically allows the head coach to choose their support staff, Gambhir's initial choices were not approved. Gambhir had expressed interest in hiring former India pacer R Vinay Kumar as the bowling coach and South African cricketing legend Jonty Rhodes as the fielding coach. Despite Rhodes' impressive credentials and his previous work with Gambhir at the Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL, the BCCI was hesitant to hire a foreigner for the support staff, maintaining a policy of an all-Indian support staff for the past seven years.
Sources suggest that T Dilip, who had previously excelled with the Indian team, is likely to continue as the fielding coach. Keeping members from previous coaching teams is a common practice. For example, Vikram Rathour joined Ravi Shastri's coaching team after the 2019 ODI World Cup and continued through Dravid's tenure.
Former India batsman VVS Laxman, who is currently the head of the National Cricket Academy (NCA), is expected to play a key role. Gambhir has expressed his intention to closely collaborate with Laxman, the BCCI, and the support staff to achieve success in upcoming competitions.
Gambhir is expected to announce his own support staff soon, with former India player Abhishek Nayar, who worked as an assistant coach with Gambhir at Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), being a potential appointment.
This decision highlights the BCCI's commitment to an all-Indian support staff and the challenges Gambhir faces in putting together his coaching team.