India to emulate Pakistan and split coaching job? Anil Kumble shares colossal take on the matter

Former India captain and head coach Anil Kumble has shared his views on having two different coaches for Team India.

The Indian team will have a new coach soon as Rahul Dravid's tenure will end after the end of the ongoing T20 World Cup. While the BCCI advertised for the post last month itself and the last date to submit applications was May 27, they are yet to announce the new head coach. There is also very little clarity over who will replace Dravid as India's new head coach.

In recent times, several big names have pulled out of the race, citing India's grueling schedule. The likes of Ricky Ponting, Justin Langer, Andy Flower, and even Michael Hussey stated that they have not applied for the job while also mentioning how tough it is to coach the Indian team for ten months in a year while traveling non-stop.

Many believe that split-coaching is the way forward for Team India as well. Several international teams already have different coaches for white and red-ball formats. The likes of England, West Indies, South Africa as well as Pakistan have different coaches but India have stayed away from the system so far.

Anil Kumble on split coaching:

Speaking about India having split coaches in the future, Anil Kumble began by admitting that it is not easy for someone to be with the Indian team for ten months in a year. Kumble, who himself coached the team from 2016 to 2017, said that the busy scheduling should be taken into account and certain tours should be prioritized to manage the workload.

"I certainly believe that it is not easy, doing a 10-month job with the Indian team. They are literally on the road, day in day out. It's not easy to be travelling so many number of days and be with the team.

"It certainly gets to you as an individual. So I think, it needs to be taken into account and probably prioritise certain tours," Anil Kumble told ESPNcricinfo.

At the same time, he said that it is important for Team India to have a unified direction and vision, regardless of the format. Kumble hinted that having different coaches might create inconsistencies in the system. He also stated that if the BCCI is indeed considering having different coaches, it should have announced it before advertising for the post.

"You also need to have the larger vision built in into the system and then try and get that person also to follow the same line because you don't want two different people going in two different directions. Because no matter what the format is, you want the Indian team to be going in one direction," said Kumble.

"In terms of white-ball cricket or Test cricket, you can take a call of making those choices. But if those choices were being considered, then I would have expected that to be prior to calling out for names," he added.

When asked whether he is in favor of having different coaches for the team, Anil Kumble said: "It depends on the personnel who sorts of get that call because that every individual is different in terms of handling the pressure, being on the road for ten months, three years on the trot.

"So it all depends on the individual. So you take a call and go with that rather than having this preconceived notion that you need two different coaches for two or three different formats."