As Gautam Gambhir and co. prepare for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, his rival for the coaching role during the selection process, WV Raman, has made a bold suggestion. Raman has suggested a unique addition to Gambhir's coaching staff in Australia. With many Indian batters struggling for form and consistency, Raman has advised the BCCI to try and rope in legendary batter Sachin Tendulkar as a batting consultant for the Australia tour. Raman stated that there is "enough time" before the second Test for India to go ahead with such an idea.
"I think that Team India could benefit if they have the services of (Sachin) Tendulkar as the batting consultant in their preparation for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2025. Enough time between now and the 2nd test. Roping in consultants is rather common these days. Worth a thought?" posted Raman on his X account.
While the first Test starts on November 22, the second Test is from December 1, giving the BCCI almost three weeks to act on Raman's suggestions should they choose to do so.
Indian batters, particularly the experienced Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, endured a torrid run in the recently-concluded Test series against New Zealand. Rohit and Kohli managed 91 and 93 runs respectively in three Tests.
With the fate of the World Test Championship (WTC) standings to be massively impacted by the upcoming Australia series, Raman's suggestion is timely.
After being appointed as head coach, Gambhir brought in Abhishek Nayar and Ryan ten Doeschate as assistant coaches, following a successful stint with them at Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) during IPL 2024. He also brought in Morne Morkel as bowling coach, whilst retaining T Dilip as the fielding coach.
It is important to note that Tendulkar has not coached or mentored Team India in any form since his retirement in 2013. However, he has been involved with IPL franchise Mumbai Indians (MI) as a mentor.