“All the foreigners come here and get the top jobs”: Gautam Gambhir believes IPL franchises should opt for Indian coaches only in future

Former Indian Southpaw opener and two-time IPL champion Gautam Gambhir bats for more opportunities being handed to the Indians for the coaching job of the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises, with the marquee league set to begin with its 16th edition next year in March.

All the 10 franchises had, a few days ago, submitted their official list of retained and released players’ list ahead of the the IPL 2023 mini auction set to take place next month.

As for the head coaches, only the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Gujarat Titans (GT), Delhi Capitals (DC), and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), out of the ten franchises have Indians as their designated head coach.

Punjab Kings (PBKS) have decided to not renew the contract of Anil Kumble for the head coach job, and have roped in Trevor Bayliss for the role in the upcoming season. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have appointed Chandrakant Pandit for the role, after their previous season coach Brendon McCullum had to quit the same after being appointed the head coach of the England national team’s Test side.

Gautam Gambhir believes IPL franchises should opt for Indian coaches

Gautam Gambhir, while sharing his views at the TURF2022 & India Sports Awards of FICCI on Saturday, remarked that the one change he wishes to see in the IPL is the appointment of Indians for the head coach job by the franchises.

Hailing the IPL as the best thing to have happened to Indian Cricket, Gambhir reckons that the foreign coaches manage to get the extra importance, while all they care for is minting money.

He further added that with emotions being an important aspect of the game, only the former cricketers can think about the betterment of Indian Cricket, and thus deserve to take up the top-spot in the coaching department.

“I strongly believe Indian should coach the Indian team. All these foreign coaches, who we gave a lot of importance to, come here to make money and then they vanish. Emotions are important in sports. The only people who can be emotional about Indian cricket are the ones who have represented their country,” Gambhir remarked.

“No Indian coach gets opportunity in Big Bash”- Gambhir

As a further defense to his aforementioned stance, the former Southpaw batter also mentioned the fact that the Indians are not considered for the coaching job in the Big Bash or any other league across the world.

“I am a mentor of Lucknow Super Giants. One thing I want to change is that I want to see all Indian coaches in IPL. Because no Indian coach gets opportunity in Big Bash or any other foreign leagues. India is a superpower in cricket, but our coaches do not get opportunity anywhere,” Gambhir said.

For those unaware, the 41-year-old was recently appointed as the Global Mentor for RPSG Group’s cricket operations across the globe. The RPSG group also owns the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) franchise in the IPL, of which Gambhir is the team mentor already.

Intersetingly, LSG’s head coach at present is Zimbabwe’s former skipper Andy Flower. So if Gambhir truly believes in what he says, he should right away make sure that the franchise ropes in an Indian coach at the earliest.