5 Indian coaches and their most famous proteges

#4 Gary Kirsten and Virat Kohli (2008-2011)

Virat Kohli played some of his most memorable knocks during his formative years under the guidance of Kirsten

Right up there in the list of the most successful coaches for the Indian Cricket Team has been the former South African opening batsman, Gary Kirsten. India’s change of fortunes within the span of a few months – from the first round ouster in the 50-over World Cup to the title victory at the 20-over version – demanded attention and called for a proper full-time head coach. It was then that the BCCI played another masterstroke and roped in Kirsten for the role, and over the years, the South African combined with the then and incumbent Indian limited-overs captain, MS Dhoni, to take India to unprecedented heights. India won a tri-series in Australia in 2008, reached the No. 1 spot in the ICC Test Rankings in 2009, and won the Asia Cup in 2010. All of these achievements over a sustained period of time culminated in India's ICC Cricket World Cup victory in 2011.

Kirsten shared a very good rapport with the Dhoni, as he did with several senior players in the side, such as Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman. However, the youngster who rose to prominence, and whose career was shaped under the able guidance of the South African was Virat Kohli. During Kohli’s unbelievable run in limited-overs cricket, something that has continued to this date, Kirsten was at the helm and took good care of the aggressive Indian batsman. From 2009 to 2011, Kohli consistently averaged above 45 in ODI cricket and also scored more than 1000 runs in 2011. The Delhi-born batsman scored 8 centuries and 17 half-centuries during the aforementioned period and lead India to many memorable victories.