As international cricket involves a halt for the Indian team, with the conclusion of the ICC Champions Trophy, the players disassemble and report back to their respective Indian Premier League franchises for a 2-month long campaign. Head coach Gautam Gambhir, nevertheless, is trying to put himself in motion prior to expected by lining up with the India ‘A’ team ahead of the senior side’s tour of England in June. As per a report, Gambhir is about to be the primary Team India head coach to travel with the A side for an overseas tour.
Over the previous couple of years, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has been using their National Cricket Academy coaches for assignments with the India A and U19 teams. The likes of Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman have been the 2 most-recent NCA coaches to guide the junior teams during such tours. After Dravid became Team India’s head coach, the India A and U19 teams’ responsibilities were handed over to Laxman and other coaches.
Gambhir, nevertheless, is keen on breaking the trend, and has reportedly already informed of his intention to the board. None of his predecessors — Rahul Dravid and Ravi Shastri — toured with the India A team while still being the top coaches of the Indian senior team. Gambhir, hence, is about for a novel project.
In keeping with a report within the Times of India, it’s not yet known whether Gambhir will travel to England as a mere spectator or as a part of the India A team’s coach. Since getting back from Australia, where India didn’t enjoy a fruitful campaign, Gambhir is keen to assist the nation’s red-ball team get back on its feet. Analysing the talent pool in depth is crucial to this task.
“Gambhir has been in discussions with the BCCI since he returned from Australia. He has expressed his desire to travel with the India ‘A’ team to get a clearer view of the reserve pool,” a BCCI source told the paper. “With India winning the Champions Trophy after Gambhir’s insistence for certain wild card players, one may expect him to claim more in future.”
Gambhir also feels that the variety of India ‘A’ tours that the board organizes is not sufficient in the mean time. He wants more such assignments to be scheduled.
“One in every of the crucial issues identified is reviving India ‘A’ tours. There have been only a handful ‘A’ series after Dravid left NCA and all of those were shadow tours for a marquee series. Gambhir too believes that there must be more ‘A’ tours. That is why he desires to take stock of the situation firsthand,” the source said.
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