Boom or bust? Examining the performances of 5 former Indian cricketers who became national coaches

#4 Anshuman Gaekwad (1997 - 1999)

Indian team got some memorable wins under Gaekwad but continued to struggle overseas

For many cricket fans who grew up watching Indian cricket in the late 90s, the man who was synonymous with India's success and failures was Anshuman Gaekwad. Many remember his childlike elation after Kumble's record 10-wicket haul against Pakistan in 1999.

Taking up the coaching responsibility at a time when the Indian team was going through a difficult phase and stabilised the condition of the team. Under him, India recorded some memorable wins in ODIs.

But there were a lot of lows as well like the 1999 Australia tour where the Indian team got outplayed all in departments of the game. There were times when the Gaekwad-Tendulkar understanding seemed to be working well but Tendulkar was by no means an exceptional captain.

Those were the days when India were supremely dependent on Tendulkar and the batting maestro seemed to be struggling under the added burden of captaincy. Gaekwad was more or less a calming presence and helped lay the foundation to a team that would begin dominating from the early 2000s.