Gautam Gambhir's Ex-Teammate Reignites Split-Coaching Debate After New Zealand Debacle: "The Mind Becomes Stale"
Former India cricketer Robin Uthappa has reignited the idea of split-coaching following India's first-ever ODI series defeat at home to New Zealand.
- Robin Uthappa, Gautam Gambhir's former KKR and India teammate, has reignited the idea of split-coaching
- Gambhir is under scrutiny following India's first-ever ODI series defeat at home to New Zealand
- "India plays a lot. You feel like the mind becomes stale. I feel it (split-coaching) should work": Uthappa
India head coach Gautam Gambhir is under the scanner once again. Despite having won an ICC trophy and an Asia Cup title in his short tenure, he has also overseen some high-profile lows. On Sunday, India succumbed to their first-ever ODI series defeat at home to New Zealand. Following the match, former India cricketer Robin Uthappa, who played for several years under Gambhir at Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), reignited the idea of split-coaching across formats. Uthappa backed the idea of different coaches for different formats.
Uthappa supported the idea of split-coaching, suggesting that it could be a viable option to keep coaches motivated and fresh.
"There are multiple ways to slice a cake. I am very open to having multiple coaches for different formats," Uthappa stated, speaking on his YouTube channel.
"India plays a lot of cricket. You feel like the mind also becomes stale when you move from one format to another. Sometimes you are so consumed. You can't really prepare for another format when you are dealing with one at a certain point in time. So you want to have that freshness of mindset and energy as well. From that perspective, I feel it (split-coaching) should work," Uthappa added.
Uthappa also suggested that such a decision should be taken keeping in mind the cohesion of the team.
"It is not an easy call to take. You need them to work in tandem and together. If they are all working against each other, then everyone suffers. To work in cohesion becomes important.
"Communication lines being open at all times, knowing when someone is going to take the lead and someone taking the backseat, knowing the importance of that. It is possible but it needs to come from a place of building something big," he further said.
Uthappa stated that he prefers a system where there's a Director of Cricket, who takes the final calls alongside the coaches.
"If you can have scouts and have them reporting to a Director of Cricket, then the director and coaches are the ones who make the final decision, along with the administrators. I think that is the most productive and constructive way to build teams from here on," Uthappa said.
Robin Uthappa
Gautam Gambhir
India Cricket Team