Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh thinks that India needs a coach who has more experience playing the shortest format as Rahul Dravid didn’t play many T20I matches and has less experience. Indian coaching staff raised many eyebrows after getting brutally beaten against England in the 20-20 World Cup semi-final by 10 wickets. The team management was under question for not including the veteran leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal in the squad
India had an unforgettable run at the 20-20 World Cup 2022 as they won their first match against Pakistan in a thriller as Virat Kohli pulled off a miracle. India suffered a loss against South Africa which exposed some of their weakness against the big teams. The match against Bangladesh was also a close encounter as India won the match by just 5 runs.
‘Nehra knows better than Dravid’: Harbhajan Singh
The 42-year-old thinks Indian Cricket Board should rope-in the former pacer Ashish Nehra as he has more experience of playing the shortest format. Nehra was also announced as the coach of the newly inducted Indian T20 League Gujarat Franchise and he guided Gujarat to their maiden trophy earlier this year.
“He [Nehra] knows this better than – with all due respect – Rahul. We [Dravid and he] have played together for so many years; he has vast knowledge, but this is a tricky format. Someone who has played the game more recently is better suited for the coaching job in T20s. I am not saying you remove Rahul from T20; Ashish and Rahul can work together to build this team for the 2024 World Cup,” Harbhajan told the press in Abu Dhabi.
Showing respect to the current Indian team coach Rahul Dravid, Harbhajan said that Dravid is doing a great job but if India will have another coach for T20I, it will lessen the workload on Dravid’s shoulders.
“With such an arrangement [split coaching], it is easy for Rahul as well, who can take a break as well like he did for the New Zealand tour and Ashish can do the job in his absence,” Harbhajan added.
