After last year’s T20 World Cup, Harbhajan suggested that someone who had recently played T20 cricket take the job and prepare the team for the next global event.
Speaking to The Indian Express, the veteran cricketer stated once more that it is past time for the Indian cricket board to bring in someone who understands the concept of T20 and the demands of modern-day cricket.
Harbhajan went on to say that if the team can have two captains for different formats – Rohit Sharma for Tests and ODIs and Hardik Pandya for T20Is – why can’t the same be said for coaches?
Yes, because you have two captains, you can have two coaches. So why not? Someone with unconventional planning. As England did with Brendon McCullum. Someone like Virender Sehwag or Ashish Nehra, who worked with the Gujarat Titans and helped Hardik Pandya win his first IPL tournament as captain. Bring someone who understands the concept of T20 and the demands of the game, Harbhajan was quoted in the Indian Express as saying.
According to the 42-year-old, appointing separate coaches for different formats will allow them to focus on a specific format and make life easier for players and the coaching staff.
The coach understands that the emphasis is on T20 cricket. If Ashish Nehra is the T20 coach, he knows his job is to make the Indian team T20 champions, and Rahul Dravid knows he has to work on how the Indian team can be No. 1 in Tests and ODIs, Harbhajan added.
Nehra won the Indian Premier League as head coach with Gujarat Titans in his first stint, and he could be the ideal replacement for Dravid if the Indian cricket board is looking for a change.
