3 Former Players Who Can Be India's Next Coach If Rahul Dravid Fails In Sri Lanka

Indian cricket team’s next project is the Sri Lanka tour, which will take place this month. The tour consists of two series- a three-match ODI series and three-match T20 series. The ODI series will take place from July 13 to July 18 while the T20I series will be conducted from July 21 to July 25.

Rahul Dravid is the coach of the Indian team, which consists of many India A players and debutants. Currently, India’s primary squad is in England for their forthcoming Test tour against England in August-September this year. Therefore, a secondary squad has been prepared by BCCI for the Sri Lanka tour.

Under coach Rahul Dravid, the secondary Indian squad is led by skipper Shikhar Dhawan with Bhuvneshwar Kumar as the vice-captain. Hardik Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav are some other experienced national players in the squad.

However, some less experienced players and debutants like Prithvi Shaw, Nitish Rana, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Chahar, Varun Chakravarthy, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Suryakumar Yadav are also part of the Indian squad for the Sri Lanka tour.

Although the current Sri Lanka national team is quite weak, holding the 9^th rank in ICC’s ODI and T20I team rankings, but they can emerge strong against India’s secondary squad. Therefore, coach Rahul Dravid has a big responsibility during the Indian vs Sri Lanka tour. If Rahul Dravid-led Indian contingent fails against Sri Lanka, the former Indian skipper might have to face consequences. Here we talk about 3 former players who can be India’s next coach if Rahul Dravid fails in Sri Lanka.

3 Former Players Who Can Be India’s Next Coach If Rahul Dravid Fails In Sri Lanka

Trevor Bayliss

Trevor Bayliss is the first player who can become India A’s next coach if Rahul Dravid fails on the Sri Lanka tour. Bayliss is a former Australian first-class cricketer. The Aussie cricketer has a long coaching experience as he has been donning the role of coach since 1997. Bayliss was Sri Lanka’s coach from 2007 to 2011 and under his guidance, Sri Lanka ended up as runners-up in ODI World Cup 2011.

He also coached IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders and under his management, the team won two IPL titles in 2012 and 2014. Bayliss also guided Australia’s Sydney Sixers franchise to the Big Bash League title in the 2011-12 season and Champions League title in the same year.

The 58-year-old was also the coach of England from 2015 to 2019, a period that witnessed the rise of the England team in international cricket. During Bayliss’ tenure, England finished as runners-up in T20I World Cup 2016 and won the ODI World Cup 2019. Therefore, Bayliss has a very successful career as a cricket coach.

Tom Moody

Tom Moody is another player who can be India A’s next coach if Rahul Dravid fails on the Sri Lanka tour. Tom Moody is a former Australia cricketer who has enough coaching experience. Since his international retirement in 2001, Moody has donned the role of coach many times. As a coach of the Sri Lanka national team, he led them to the finals of ICC ODI World Cup 2011.

Moody, who played 8 Test for 76 ODIs for Australia, has also coached IPL team Sunrisers Hyderabad from 2013 to 2019. During the time, Sunrisers Hyderabad won the title in IPL 2016 and reached the playoffs five times. Currently, Tom Moddy is the Director of Cricket of Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Mahela Jayawardene

With more than 11,000 runs in both Tests and ODIs, former Sri Lankan cricketer Mahela Jayawardene is definitely one of the batting legends in cricket. His coaching career has been equally applaudable. In August 2015, he was appointed as the batting coach of the England national team. The former Sri Lanka skipper held the post till ICC T20 World Cup 2016, in which England finished as runners-up in the tournament.

Jayawardene was also appointed as the Mumbai Indians coach in IPL 2017. In the last 4 seasons IPL 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020, Mumbai Indians have won the title three times, excluding the 2018 season.

Therefore, Mahela Jayawardene has emerged as a very successful coach while leading Mumbai Indians for the last 4 seasons. Therefore, he is another player who might be appointed as the new India A coach if Rahul Dravid-led Indian side fails in the Sri Lanka tour.