"Language is a barrier for budding Indian player who comes from interiors" - Sunil Gavaskar demands for Indian coaches, captains in IPL

Former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has raised concerns over the growth of young Indian cricketers under foreign coaches and explained the importance of the role played by Indian coaches in the IPL.

The league stage of IPL 2023 concluded on Sunday, May 21, with the top four teams progressing into the next round. Defending champions Gujarat Titans, Chennai Super Kings, Lucknow Super Giants and Mumbai Indians made the cut for the playoffs.

Delhi Capitals (DC) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) finished the league stage at ninth and 10th position respectively. Australian batter David Warner shone bright with the bat, but couldn't lead the Capitals to the playoffs in the absence of Rishabh Pant.

Meanwhile, Aiden Markram couldn't perform well as per expectations based on his success with the Sunrisers Eastern Cape as the inaugural champions of SA20.

Sunil Gavaskar pointed to the failure of foreign leadership, including head coaches Ricky Ponting and Brian Lara, in terms of connecting with the Indian domestic players.

Explaining how foreign captains and coaches of DC and SRH couldn't build a rapport with the talented Indian youngsters, Gavaskar wrote in his column for Sportstar:

"These players have had such superior skills and a magnificent temperament that it’s not easy for them to think like those not as gifted as they were in both the technique and temperament departments."

He further mentioned about the language barriers, adding:

"Often, the language is a barrier for a young, budding Indian player who comes from the interiors and may not be conversant in English to understand. That probably explains why players like Yash Dhull, Priyam Garg, and Sarfaraz Khan, to name just three, have made little or no progress."

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) missed the services of Shreyas Iyer for the entire season owing to a back injury. However, Nitish Rana took charge of the team in the absence of the Indian middle-order batter.

Uncapped Indian player Rinku Singh was the find of IPL 2023 even though he has played for KKR since 2018.

Rinku hammered Yash Dayal for five consecutive sixes to pull off a spectacular chase in the last over against Gujarat Titans. Since then, the southpaw became the lynchpin of the KKR batting order, scoring 474 runs at a strike rate of 149.53.

KKR floater Venkatesh Iyer made decent progress with 404 runs at a strike rate of 145.85 after a poor season with the bat in IPL 2022 (182 runs in 12 innings).

Leg-spinner Varun Chakravarthy was the leading wicket-taker of the two-time IPL winners with 20 wickets at an economy rate of 8.15.

Speaking on the contributions of Indian KKR players in IPL 2023, Sunil Gavaskar credited head coach Chandrakant Pandit, who is the franchise's first Indian coach since the inception of the cash-rich league.

Gavaskar wrote:

"Look at the progress made by Rinku Singh under Chandu Pandit, the terrific coming back to form of Venkatesh Iyer and Varun Chakravarthy, and Nitish Rana growing as a captain."

Sunil Gavaskar also praised LSG and Gujarat Titans players for flowering under Indian coaches. He added:

"Under the guidance of Gautam Gambhir, see how Ravi Bishnoi, Ayush Badoni, and Naveen-ul-Haq (Afghanistan) are flowering, as also under Ashish Nehra and Hardik Pandya, who invariably find a new player of the match."

Gujarat Titans will take on MS Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings in the Qualifier 1 of IPL 2023 on Tuesday, May 23, at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai