[Watch] “They only come here, make money & they vanish” - When Gautam Gambhir spoke against having foreign coaches in Indian team

In November 2022, Gautam Gambhir stressed the need to give importance to Indian coaches and believed they were the best to lead the national side. He had opined that emotions involved with Indian coaches will propel the players to perform better.

Gambhir's comments came during his appearance at the FICCI TURF 2022 & India Sports Awards. He applauded BCCI's decision to appoint Indian coaches after the departure of Duncan Fletcher in 2015. At that time, the Men in Blue had been coached by the likes of Anil Kumble, Ravi Shastri, Sanjay Bangar, and Rahul Dravid.

Gambhir had said:

“One really good thing that has happened in Indian cricket in the last six or seven years, is that an Indians have started coaching since Anil Kumble. I am a strong believer that an Indian should coach the cricket team. There has to be emotions involved. We give a lot of importance to foreign coaches. They only come here and make money and they vanish."

However, Gambhir came under fire after he decided to appoint foreign coaches in the Indian setup after becoming the men's team head coach this year.

After his success as a mentor with the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in IPL 2024, Gambhir inducted former Dutch international Ryan ten Doeschate as one of the assistant coaches in the Indian team, along with Abhishek Nayar. The duo held the role of fielding and batting coach, respectively, for KKR.

Meanwhile, Morne Morkel was appointed as the bowling coach of the Indian team. The right-arm pacer donned the same role during his three-year stint with the Lucknow Super Giants setup. He worked alongside then-team mentor Gautam Gambhir for the first two years.

---

Gautam Gambhir earlier wished for Morne Morkel's presence in Indian team

After Morne Morkel was appointed as India's bowling coach, Gautam Gambhir's old interview with Gaurav Kapoor went viral. During an interaction, the 43-year-old wished to have Morkel in the Indian team during his playing days due to his tall stature and skills.

Gambhir pointed out that during the 2011-13 editions of IPL, while he was playing for KKR, he would hate to face Delhi Capitals' pacer Morkel. The same reason compelled him to bring the tall pacer into the KKR setup in 2014.

The duo secured title victory in their first season itself, with captain Gambhir scoring 335 runs and Morkel picking 12 wickets.

"That's why I got him, honestly that's why we got him in the KKR as well. I thought he was the toughest bowler I have faced. Isko apni side lelo. Jab wo Delhi ke liye khel raha tha every time I would face him, I would come back and say yar I wish we have Morne Morkel," Gambhir mentioned. [H/t Hindustan Times]

Gambhir played for the Kolkata-based franchise till 2017 and led them to two title victories. Meanwhile, Morkel's last appearance for the side came in 2016.