6 possible Indian replacements for Anil Kumble as the head coach of the Indian cricket team

Reports regarding the rift between the present Indian Coach Anil Kumble and skipper Virat Kohli have been surfacing in the media for the past couple of days. Such things coming to the fore just before the end of Kumble’s one-year contract for the position of Indian Coach is not a good sign for him. For, this can undo all the good work that he has done for the Indian team during his tenure.

He won almost everything in this period and whatever he touched turned into gold. In fact, the only series defeat came while playing a two-match T20I series against the West Indies in the USA. The first match of that series was washed out by rain and India was unfortunate to lose the second match by just a run. However, one single match of misfortune cannot overshadow all other memorable victories that he helped India to.

However, things have now gone sour for Kumble with the recent controversy floating up. Although he deserves an extension looking back at all that he has achieved till now, there is a high possibility that the BCCI would look for alternative options. And today have a look at six of those possible Indian Coaches who can be a fitting replacement for Kumble.

#6 Praveen Amre

Praveen Amre has coached Mumbai to the Ranji Trophy title in the past

The 48-year old former India international may not seem to be that attractive for the position of the Indian head coach. However, the former Indian middle-order batsman has got quite a bit of experience under his belt. He was the coach of the 2012 U-19 World Cup winning Indian Team. Moreover, he has a vast coaching experience in the domestic circuit as well.

Amre has also coached the Mumbai Cricket team which has been absolutely dominant in the Ranji Trophy since the inception of the tournament. IPL experience is also a necessary criterion nowadays for being considered as a good coach and the 48-year-old fulfils that as well. He has served as the Assistant Coach of the Pune Warriors India (now disbanded from the tournament) as well as the Delhi Daredevils.

The man from Mumbai is also one of those rare players who scored a century and a half-century in his Test and ODI debuts respectively. He received his tutelage from Ramakant Achrekar who is famous for gifting India with players like Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli. However, he played only 11 Tests and 37 ODIs for India before being dropped unceremoniously. So, now is the time when Amre can revive his international career but this time in a whole new role.

#5 Sanjay Bangar

Sanjay Bangar has served as an able deputy to Anil Kumble

Sanjay Bangar may well be one of the front-runners if the BCCI is bent upon selecting an Indian national for the highly coveted position. The batting coach of the Indian team at present, Bangar was, in fact, the head coach for the Zimbabwe tour in 2016. Moreover, the Indian skipper Virat Kohli has also openly hailed Bangar work behind the scenes for their massive improvements in the last one year.

The 44-year old also has a vast coaching experience under his belt. He has served as a coach for the India A team, batting coach of the Kochi Tuskers Kerala franchise (now disbanded from IPL) in 2010 and before taking over the reins at Kings XI Punjab, helping them to their only Final appearance in 2014.

Although he didn’t have that great an international career, he was one of the finest all-rounders in domestic cricket during his playing days. Over 8000 runs and 212 wickets in first-class cricket suggest how prolific he was. Moreover, he was also the only player besides Vijay Hazare to achieve the double of 6000 runs and 200 wickets in Ranji Trophy.

#4 Sandip Patil

Sandeep Patil has served as the head coach earlier as well

Sandeep Patil is another man who is a strong contender for the post. After his retirement as a player, Patil took his first coaching stint with India A and also went on to coach the Indian team thereafter. It was then that he took up the job of coaching Kenya and did the unthinkable. He took the world by storm when he guided the minnows Kenya to an unlikely semi-final spot in the 2003-World Cup.

It seems that he loves coaching the minnows as he served his next coaching stint with Oman. He helped them to qualify for the ICC Trophy with some strong performances in the ACC Trophy. He also coached the Mumbai Champs in the unofficial Indian Cricket League but returned to the mainstream in 2009. And three years later, he was named as the Chairman of the National Selection Panel in 2012 following a coaching stint with India’s National Cricket Academy in Bangalore.

A hard-hitting middle order batsman back in his playing days, he was a real crowd puller. In 29 Tests and 45 ODIs, his batting numbers read 1588 runs and 1005 runs respectively. He had four Test centuries to his name and 16 international half-centuries in Tests and ODIs combined. Moreover, he was a handy medium pacer also as he had 24 international wickets to his name.

#3 Mohinder Amarnath

Mohinder Amarnath had turned down the job of coaching a talented India-A team in the early 2000s

Amarnath has had coaching experiences with a rising Bangladesh side in the mid-90s, Rajasthan in domestic cricket and also a coaching assignment with the Moroccan Cricket team. Surprisingly, he had turned down the job of coaching a talented India-A team in the early 2000s, he was one of the four shortlisted candidates to take up the role of the Indian Coach in 2005.

He has also worked as a consultant for the Bengal cricket team after their relegation to the Plate Division in Ranji Trophy. The 66-year old now mostly spends his time doing commentary assignments.

As a player, he is most remembered for his performance in India’s title winning campaign in the 1983 World Cup. He won two consecutive ‘Man of the Match’ awards in the final two matches of the tournament and was also adjudged the ‘Man of the Series’.

The 66-year-old was one of India’s batting greats in the 1980s with 6302 overall runs to his name in 154 international games. Moreover, he was a handy medium pacer also as he claimed 78 wickets in his international career.

#2 Virender Sehwag

Sehwag was named head of Kings XI Punjab's cricket operations

Sehwag certainly doesn’t need an introduction and is on the list because of his aggressive and straight forward attitude. A man with over 16,000 runs in 355 international matches, he was an absolute menace for the opposition bowlers. He has delighted cricket fans with numerous memorable knocks during his playing days and is now looking to start a new career in the coaching role.

Although he does not have much coaching experience yet, he was named the Head of Kings XI Punjab's Cricket Operations IPL 2017. He has won numerous awards during his playing days which include the Wisden Leading Cricketer in the world consecutively in 2008 and 2009, Arjuna Award in 2002, ICC Test player of the year in 2010 and the Padmashree in the same year.

#1 Rahul Dravid

Rahul Dravid has been the coach of the Delhi Daredevils in the IPL for the past two seasons

‘The Wall’ of Indian Cricket is unarguably one of the best candidates to take up the mantle from Anil Kumble. He has scored over 24,000 runs in international cricket which includes 48 centuries and 146 half-centuries. Many former bowling greats like Brett Lee, Alan Donald and others have hailed him as one of the toughest batsmen that they bowled to during their playing days.

After retiring as a player, Dravid took the responsibility of coaching the Indian U-19 team and also successfully guided them to the final of the ICC U19 World Cup in 2016. Moreover, he has also been the coach of the IPL franchises – the Rajasthan Royals and the Delhi Daredevils where he has been responsible for the development of many young Indian players like Sanju Samson, Rishabh Pant and Karun Nair among others.