The outspoken former India batsman, captain and chairman of selectors Dilip Vengsarkar has come out against IPL franchises taking the option of selecting coaches for their teams from outside India. Vengsarkar is advocating the idea that more IPL franchises should go for Indian coaches rather than opting for foreign stars.
Most of the IPL franchises are run as businesses and employing foreign cricket stars adds value to their attraction at the box office.
Therefore it is not surprising that all IPL franchises except Kings XI Punjab employ foreign coaches. The remaining seven IPL franchises’ head coaches are:
- Brendon McCullum (Kolkata Knight Riders);
- Ricky Ponting (Delhi Capitals);
- Andrew McDonald (Rajasthan Royals);
- Mahela Jayawardene (Mumbai Indians);
- Trevor Bayliss (Sunrisers Hyderabad);
- Stephen Fleming (Chennai Super Kings) and
- Simon Katich (Royal Challengers Bangalore).
Kings XI Punjab is employing former Indian legend Anil Kumble as its head coach.
“I believe more Indian coaches should coach the IPL teams simply because they have the experience; they have also been coaching the states exceedingly well” Vengsarkar said.
“Besides, how many Indian coaches are coaching teams in other countries’ league like Australia’s Big Bash, etc.? We find none. So why should we hire foreign coaches? I feel our coaches are equally good and some of them are even better.
“It’s time we give more opportunity to Indian coaches, I am sure they will do exceedingly well. Hopefully, IPL teams will have more Indian coaches than foreign coaches,” Vengsarkar added
The issue came to light recently when Kumble himself spoke about the issue.
“I can’t answer that question (why other teams don’t have Indian head coaches). I don’t think it gives a true reflection of the quality or the availability of the Indian resources. It’s bit of an irony right? It’s the Indian Premier League and then you have only one Indian as the head coach. I am hopeful that there will be more Indian coaches in the mix,” said Kumble during an interaction from Dubai last week.
In the past three other legends have had the opportunity to coach IPL franchises:
Lalchand Rajput (MI);
Robin Singh (SRH); and
Venkatesh Prasad (RCB).
“The reason I have taken up this assignment with KXIP is that we have great a squad to go all the way. That’s my role, to prepare the team. This is first time I am meeting the squad. Because of Covid, we have got to spend a longer time with the team. Otherwise, it’s just one week before the tournament,” said Kumble had said.