India set for coaching overhaul as cracks deepen in dressing room: report

KARACHI: The India men's cricket team is set for a coaching overhaul amid their ongoing historic slump in T20Is, which has seen them concede back-to-back series away against Ireland and England, respectively, Indian media reported on Saturday.

According to a report by an Indian news website, the Men in Blue, who earlier this year became the first team to successfully defend the ICC Men's T20 World Cup title, are likely to undergo a coaching reset, with at least one prominent member of the Gautam Gambhir-led group set to leave.

The current coaching setup of the reigning T20I champions signed a two-plus-one contract with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), with their tenure formally getting underway in July 2024.

As per the contract, the cricket board and the coaches have the option of extending their tenure by one year after the initial two years, but the report suggested that at least one member has already held talks with an Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise with global presence and is likely to join them.

The report, however, emphasised that the move was not due to the team's recent defeats in Ireland and England, but instead due to the deepening cracks in the dressing room, which stemmed from their 2-0 whitewash in the home Test series against South Africa last year, while the disagreements between coaches and selectors made the situation worse.

"This possible move is not due to the team's poor outings in Ireland and England, but rather something that has been brewing over the past few months," read the report.

"It is learnt that cracks have deepened in the dressing room since the two-Test defeat against South Africa at home, and it is not the happiest place to be at the moment. The disagreements between the selectors and the coaching staff have further complicated matters," it added.

The report also suggested that India's decision to send a different set of coaches for the short Zimbabwe series could have been prompted by the potential exit of one of its current support staff members.