Former Australia batsman Dean Jones believes Test skipper Virat Kohli must have a say in the selection of the new India coach which will be decided after the cricket World Cup starting next month.
Incumbent India coach Duncan Fletcher’s contract with the BCCI expires after the World Cup that will conclude on March 29 and a couple of names are already doing the rounds as who could be the possible replacements.
In an exclusive chat with PTI, team director Ravi Shastri had hinted that he will be willing to take a permanent role with the team post the World Cup. Mike Hussey’s name was also mooted as a rumour, but the cricketer has ruled himself out of the running for the time being.
“Virat Kohli is the Test skipper now and he will be the ODI and T20 captain in the time to come. So he must have someone he is comfortable with and together they must work for the betterment of Indian cricket,” said Jones.
“They need to come out of the mess their Test team is in, and a new aggressive captain with a new coach should help achieve that. And they have a lot of time on their hands, to pick a proper coach after the World Cup and the IPL. There is a good 3-4 months to settle down on some good choices.”
India have slipped to number seven in the latest ICC Test rankings, placed just above West Indies, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. While that is an embarrassing position to be in, it cannot be rectified until later in the year as India’s next Test assignment is a bit unknown.
“The question to ask here is this, have they got the best coaching staff that money can buy?” said Jones, when asked if the BCCI’s deep pockets have brought good enough support staff to the team mix.
“Have they got the best staff available at the moment? Clearly the results haven’t shown so.” India had changed their support staff after the 1-3 Test series loss in England. Joe Dawes and Trevor Penney were sacked, while Shastri, Sanjay Bangar, R Sridhar and B Arun had come in their place.
“Changing staff again and again isn’t a solution either and certainly not one that I recommend. But then has there been a difference in performance from England to Australia, particularly of the bowlers? They bowled short and wide in England and they have bowled short and wide in Australia. And India have lost both series despite playing some competitive cricket,” Jones said.
