Rahul Dravid, the head coach, and skipper Rohit Sharma have been invited to a special BCCI meeting in Mumbai. Before leaving for Bangladesh on December 1, the BCCI’s top brass will also meet with the captain-coach team in addition to Virat Kohli. There will also be some of the departing selectors in Mumbai. The T20 World Cup performance evaluation is on the agenda, but the major topic of the meeting is how to move forward. Split coaching and split captaincy will also be up for discussion.
BCCI is currently facing a problem. They did not want a split captaincy, thus Virat Kohli was relieved of his ODI and Test captaincy. However, Rohit Sharma’s ageing and the need to make plans for the T20 World Cup in 2024 have compelled the board to reconsider. The ODI’s Rohit Sharma will remain in place. After the 2023 World Cup, the topic of ODI and Test captaincy will be discussed.
There is a pressing need to consider alternatives as bilateral series increase. The BCCI might emulate England in this way. Dravid will continue to serve as the ODI coach, although BCCI is considering hiring a T20 coach. Not that Dravid hasn’t played T20s; rather, like many others, he has played them cautiously.
The meeting will be attended by Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Rahul Dravid, BCCI Roger Binny, Secretary Jay Shah, BCCI Treasurer Ashish Shelar, Chetan Sharma ( Chairman of selectors).
The BCCI seeks to remedy this. India needs to revamp their T20 strategy, and for that they require fresh thinking. The BCCI is open to suggestions for a foreign coach, despite the fact that Gautam Gambhir and others have requested an Indian coach. Dravid will be under less pressure, who has also received criticism for taking too many pauses.
A BCCI source said, “We can’t afford to lose repeatedly. We will not take chances anymore. We are already in discussion with Rohit Sharma and he is comfortable with idea of the appointment of new captain for the T20 format. We will do the same with Rahul. He without doubt is an asset. But there is too much on his plate and we want to reduce his load. We will soon meet him.”
