It hasn’t really been an ‘era’ of sorts for one Rahul Dravid. Coming in with cautious optimism, there were obvious expectations, natural enough when you’re coaching one of the strongest sides in this sport, but also with his own achievements. A former U19 World Cup winning coach himself, he was slotted in to work with the same set of players at juniors level who had made the jump to the big time. Yet here we are almost 2-and-a-half years later with nothing to write home about. Where did we go wrong here?

I wouldn’t necessarily call his term a failure, but I’m also generous enough to call it a mixed bag. It’s a weird spot to be in, to be honest, as there was enough caliber in Dravid based off the aforementioned U19 achievement. A shrewd tactician, a former captain and someone who could steer the ship and let it sail well and fine. He was called ‘Mr. Dependable’ for a reason, and so he was, trying to do the same. Inheriting a squad coming off a rocky World T20 campaign in 2021, but ironically enough leaving (what feels like) a rocky squad ahead of the upcoming World T20 in USA/West Indies. We will always have the Cricket World Cup campaign though, so thank you for that.

Reports suggest he will not be continuing after his contract runs out after the tournament, and fair enough. But if he does look to continue, I do have a proposition for him which I will get to in a bit. For now, all signs do point to the Indian cricket team getting a new Head Coach this summer. Candidates have emerged thick and fast, and will always do as it is one of the highest paying jobs in International Cricket, so who wouldn’t wanna be a part of it. To analyze, I have divided them into a SIP (Safest, Ideal & Probable) shout of candidacy. So without further ado, let’s get to it:

Safest Bet: VVS Laxman

The strongest candidate by logic dictation. VVS Laxman has already gotten a few chances to coach whenever our head coach Dravid has ‘needed rest.’ I wouldn’t say that the latter was wrong for doing so, but also for a coach I don’t see the need for, rather BCCI’s greed to host series when the team is fatigued. Rich after all…. Coming back to Laxman, per his previous adventures filling in for Dravid, India has had a decent run of sorts, playing against lower ranked teams like Ireland, Zimbabwe, etc, expectedly winning all series’ except West Indies. “but it’s okay to be unique™️” after all.. His tenure would be defined (read: marred) by who remains the India captain if there is a pendulum hanging above Rohit Sharma’s tenure of the same. But as mentioned earlier, if Dravid does want to continue, we could finally be embracing the ‘split coaching’ concept as England & Pakistan already have so far, with Dravid taking the reins for Tests & VVS for ODIs. But if that doesn’t happen, he still does hold the same advantage as Dravid of already working with the squad, but how it translates to any glory for us, remains to be seen. It’s still cautious optimism, but it’s far from my ideal choice, who is…..

Ideal choice: Gautam Gambhir

Who doesn’t love a ‘no-nonsense’ tactician who is obsessed with winning? Gautam Gambhir fits that bill to a tee. Someone who has been a part of India’s glorious times knows a thing or two about getting the best out of an Indian squad who has severely underachieved for a decade now. We have failed to win a major trophy since 2013, with Champions Trophy being our last piece of silverware. And his IPL credentials are also an added advantage for his candidacy, steering the Kolkata Knight Riders to the crown in 2012 & 2014. And if reports indicate that BCCI has approached him for a possible appointment, he becomes an instant favorite for his CV alone. A master strategist, Gambhir has engineered some of the boldest calls which has guided him to success in all aspects, and my personal opinion is that India is in desperate need of such. We’ve been too safe & soft which hasn’t attributed to anything, and perhaps never will. There is a lot I could say but I also want to keep it for another time, but I can at least say that if we are to start from scratch somewhere, Gambhir is definitely the perfect candidate for it. The only thing that doesn’t work in his favor is the aforementioned reason of India’s safe approach, also ego clashes when Gambhir hasn’t been shy of his criticism of the Indian team (also his own; which I don’t have a personal liking of him about). I would love if it happens though, for the team. But I also don’t want it to be a chaotic mess of Greg Chappell’s time in the mid 2000s either. It’s up to him to accept the job, though I personally don’t think he will accept it given the rigorous schedule, but would do a whole lot of good to transform the future of Indian cricket. I just want Indian cricket to win big and something.

Probable Shouts:

Mike Hesson

A personal favourite along with being a possible applicant, Mike Hesson is certainly someone who could usher in a new era for Indian cricket. We ourselves are no strangers to foreign coaches and Hesson’s credentials speak for themselves. He’s had a majorly successful stint with New Zealand, transforming them into the sport’s strongest sides. And his expertise along with comes handy, especially when for a job where the captain is probably the strongest voice in the room (a la Rohit Sharma as of now, or whoever takes from him in the future). He had a fairly successful stint from a performance POV with RCB in the IPL (as Director of Cricket), and was also most recently the head coach of Islamabad United, the reigning champions of the Pakistan Super League. Would be my go-to choice all things considered but also not someone who I think BCCI will go for, as they’re allergic to making smart choices.

Tom Moody

A regular applicant for India’s coaching vacancy since 2005, Tom Moody has always shown interest for this position. The former Australian’ definitely knows how to coach a national side to glory, whilst himself being at the helm of Sri Lanka’s golden generation in the mid 2000s. He’s been a regular name in franchise cricket as of late, with glorious stints in the IPL with Sunrisers Hyderabad, and most recently with Oval Invincibles in The Hundred. As mentioned, he’s no stranger to the Indian candidacy, as previously he had left his Sunrisers’ coaching stint in 2019 to apply for the position, only to be rejected (AGAIN!). Poor Tom though, hope he does make it as a coach someday.

Ashish Nehra

Because why not, eh? He’s shown his coaching chops, guiding Gujarat to its first IPL trophy in their debut season, could prove to be useful in the future if not now, at least for T20Is.

Justin Langer

Another proven winner, someone who falls in similar lieu of Gautam Gambhir’s winning mentality. Someone a lot of fans would be hoping for, but as a hard taskmaster I don’t see the Indian team embracing his methods. Would like to see it happen, someday.

There’s also Ricky Ponting & Stephen Fleming as probable shouts but they seem content with Franchise cricket’s bigger pay & lighter schedule.

So these are my probables and hopeful scenarios on what could happen for the Indian coaching hotseat. I’m not certain that these will happen, but all signs point to what could happen where I have also chimed in. Let’s see who BCCI ‘begrudgingly’ appoints and someone who would want more share of the power, but time will tell how that pans out.