From controversial Chappell years to World Cup glory under Kirsten: A look at how India's foreign coaches fared
Gautam Gambhir has two foreigners in his coaching staff with the addition of Morne Morkel but it has been almost a decade since a non-Indian was head coach.
With the appointment of South Africa pace great Morne Morkel as India's bowling coach, Gautam Gambhir's coaching staff is now pretty much fully equipped. Abhishek Nayar and Ryan ten Doeschate are the former India batter's assistant coaches. T Dilip is the only remaining member of Gambhir's predecessor Rahul Dravid's coaching staff, and he continues as India's fielding coach.
The appointment of Gambhir means that the team will be having an Indian heading its coaching staff for the ninth successive year. Ten Doeschate and Morkel are the only foreigners within the staff, which itself has been a rarity for India for much of the last decade. However, the Indian team has experienced great success under foreign coaches in the past. There have been four foreigners thus far who have helmed the Indian coaching staff over the years, all in the 21st century.
Here we take a look at how they fared:
1. John Wright: The former New Zealand batter was the first foreigner to be appointed as head coach of the Indian men's cricket team. Wright took over in 2000 and ended up being one of the longest-serving coaches ever for the Indian team. He is remembered fondly for lifting the team out of the dumps in the wake of the match-fixing saga of the late 1990s along with captain Sourav Ganguly. India started shedding ist status as poor travellers winning Tests in England and Australia. Most prominently, it was under Wright and Ganguly that India reached the 2003 World Cup final in South Africa. It was the first time they had reached the summit clash of the tournament since they had won it in 1983. India's form started suffering and Wright eventually left in 2005.
2. Greg Chappell: Chappell took over from Wright but, unlike what was the case with the New Zealander, the former Australia captain's two-year tenure between 2005 and 2007 was the most controversial one for any Indian coach in the 21st century. Much of it stemmed from his run-ins with the seniors of the team, particularly Ganguly, who was unceremoniously sacked as captain and dropped from the team early in his tenure. India lost a Test series on their second tour to Pakistan in three years but then won the ODI series. This was followed by a tour of South Africa where they recorded their maiden win in a Test match in the country. However, they lost the series 2-1. They were then dumped out of the 2007 World Cup in the group stage and that led to Chappell not renewing his contract. The widespread protests against Chappell's decisions as head coach of the Indian team showed that fans never warmed up to the Australian batting great. However, Chappell's tenure is known for handing debuts to a number of players who went on to form the core of the Indian team that won the 2011 World Cup.
3. Gary Kirsten: The former South African batter remains the last coach of the Indian team to have led them to victory in the ODI World Cup. In fact, considering the fact that India didn't officially have a head coach at the 1983 World Cup, Kirsten is pretty much the only full-time appointee in the position to have led the team to the title. Kirsten served in the role from 2007 to 2011 and, alongside captain MS Dhoni, built a formidable side brimming with young talent. India drew Test series in South Africa and Sri Lanka, made it to the finals of multi-nation tournaments including the Asia Cup. All of it culminated in them winning the big one on home soil and that was Kirsten's last act as head coach.
4. Duncan Fletcher: Fletcher's tenure is a rather mixed one. While India won the 2013 Champions Trophy under his and Dhoni's leadership, the team also suffered humiliating whitewashes in Test series in England and Australia. It was also during his tenure that India lost a Test series at home to England in 2012/13. It remains the last home loss for India in the longest format. A year later, India were thrashed 3-1 in a Test series in England, which led to the BCCI appointing former captain Ravi Shastri as team director to work with Fletcher. India had a brief revival form after that, eventually reaching the semi-final of the 2015 World Cup after which Fletcher left the role.
