New Delhi: Former India pacers Zaheer Khan and Lakshmipathy Balaji are reportedly in the fray to become the new bowling coach of the Indian cricket team. India are set to usher into a new era after Gautam Gambhir was officially appointed as the team’s new head coach on Tuesday. Gambhir will take over the reins from Rahul Dravid, who guided India to glory in the recently concluded T20 World Cup 2024.
Gambhir is set to bring in a new set of coaching staff when he begins his stint with India’s upcoming series against Sri Lanka at home. Zaheer and Balaji are reportedly in contention to replace Paras Mahambrey as the new bowling coach of the Men in Blue. Earlier there were reports that Gambhir had suggested former India pacer R Vinay Kumar’s name for the bowling coach’s post.
However, BCCI is reportedly not keen on appointing Kumar. As per a report in ANI, Zaheer and Balaji are the two names being discussed for the top position. Gambhir has reportedly also recommended the name of Abhishek Nayar for the position of the batting coach and the former Mumbai batter might get the nod.
“BCCI discussing the names of Zaheer Khan and Lakshmipathy Balaji for the position of bowling coach. BCCI is not interested in the name of Vinay Kumar,” a BCCI source was quoted as saying by ANI.
Zaheer is one of the greatest fast bowlers Inda has produced. The left-arm pacer has 311 wickets in 92 Tests and 282 wickets in 200 ODIs. He was part of the MS Dhoni-led side that won the 2011 ODI World Cup and played an instrumental role in helping India win the tournament with 21 wickets in 9 matches, joint-most by any bowler in the competition.
Gambhir was also part of the 2011 ODI World Cup-winning side and has played a lot of matches together with Zaheer. Balaji, on the other hand, played 8 Tests for India and picked up 27 wickets. In ODIs, he managed 34 wickets in 30 matches.
Zaheer and Balaji’s coaching experience
Zaheer has some coaching experience behind his back as he served as the bowling consultant of the Indian cricket team in 2017. He also served as a bowling mentor for Mumbai Indians in the IPL and was later appointed as the Director of Cricket Operations of the franchise.
Meanwhile, Balaji too holds significant coaching experience. He served as the bowling coach of Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings from 2018 to 2022. He also served as KKR’s bowling coach and mentor in 2017. Both players hold great experience in coaching roles and are also established international cricketers. It remains to be seen who will pip the other in the race to take over as the new bowling coach of Team India.
Former India pacers Zaheer Khan and Lakshmipathy Balaji are reportedly in contention to become new bowling coach of the Indian men’s cricket team under head coach Gautam Gambhir. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
