While the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has appointed Gautam Gambhir as the head coach of the senior men’s Indian cricket team, there is still no official confirmation on who will be the team’s bowling coach under him.
While it is being expected that Abhishek Nayar and Ryan ten Doeschate will travel with the Indian team as asssitant coaches, it now seems like the suspense over the bowling coach, at least for the Sri Lanka tour, is being lifted.
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A report carried by Cricbuzz now claims that even though former South African pacer Morne Morkel’s appointment as the bowling coach of India seems more or less confirmed, he will not be travelling to Sri Lanka with the Indian team. In his absence, it will be Sairaj Bahutule, who has been associated with the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru, will travel with Team India as their bowling coach for the the Sri Lanka tour.
“The Morkel deal is not final; talks are still ongoing. He may join later,” a source in the know of developments was quoted as saying by the aforementioned publication. While Bahutule looks set to be the bowling coach and Nayar and Ten Doeschate likely to be the assistant coaches, it has also been claimed as the per the same report that fielding coach T Dilip will continue his role with Gambhir taking charge as the head of the coaching staff.
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Sairaj Bahutule’s International Career
Bahutule, a former leg-spinning all-rounder for Team India, went on to play two Test matches and eight ODIs during his international career. He made his international debut in 1997, playing his last match at the highest level in 2003. Given that spin is likely to be a dominant force in Sri Lanka, the Board has decided to go ahead with him as the interim bowling coach ahead of Troy Cooley, who is also a bowling coach at the NCA.
