Lucknow Super Giants in action during the Indian Premier League (IPL)© BCCI

File photo of Gautam Gambhir© AFP

Following the appointment of Gautam Gambhir as India’s head coach on Tuesday, former seamers Zaheer Khan and Lakshmipathy Balaji are being considered for the position of national team’s bowling coach, as per sources. “BCCI discussing the names of Zaheer Khan and Lakshmipati Balaji for the position of bowling coach. BCCI is not interested in the name of Vinay Kumar,” sources told ANI. Zaheer has picked up 311 Test wickets in 92 matches and overall 610 scalps in 309 international matches across all formats for Men in Blue. He is considered one of the greatest left-arm pacers to have played the sport.

Balaji has represented Team India in eight Test matches where he has managed to snap 27 wickets at an average of 37.18. On the other hand, he has bagged 34 wickets in 30 ODIs at an average of 39.52.

The appointment of a new set of support staff for Team India follows the appointment of Gautam Gambhir as head coach. The term of Paras Mahambrey, who was the bowling coach of team India, has come to an end.

Earlier, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah on Tuesday announced that former cricketer Gautam Gambhir has been appointed as the Indian men’s cricket team’s new head coach.

Gambhir was a left-handed opener for the India team and served as Kolkata Knight Riders’ team mentor in the Indian Premier League 2024. KKR lifted their third IPL trophy this season under Gambhir’s guidance.

Jay Shah took to his official X account and announced Gambhir’s appointment as Team India’s new Head Coach.

The BCCI secretary added that he has his full confidence in Gambhir and that he will be the ideal person to steer Indian Cricket forward.

“It is with immense pleasure that I welcome Mr @GautamGambhir as the new Head Coach of the Indian Cricket Team. Modern-day cricket has evolved rapidly, and Gautam has witnessed this changing landscape up close. Having endured the grind and excelled in various roles throughout his career, I am confident that Gautam is the ideal person to steer Indian Cricket forward. His clear vision for #TeamIndia, coupled with his vast experience, positions him perfectly to take on this exciting and most sought-after coaching role. The @BCCI fully supports him as he embarks on this new journey,” Shah wrote on X.

Rahul Dravid’s tenure as the head coach of Team India came to an end after the conclusion of the final match of the T20 World Cup 2024, where India beat South Africa by seven runs to win the prestigious trophy after 17 years.

Punjab Kings didn’t utilise young Arshdeep Singh properly during the just-concluded IPL but the left-arm pacer can be very effective during the death overs at the T20 World Cup along with Jasprit Bumrah, reckons former India pacer Rudra Pratap Singh. The left-arm seamer got 19 wickets from 14 games but an economy rate of 10.03, primarily due to the ‘impact player’ onslaught left him a bit dazed. RP Singh, India’s bowling hero in the 2007 edition of the T20 World Cup in South Africa, said he will prefer Arshdeep over Mohammed Siraj.

“If we assess Arshdeep on the basis of his IPL performance, I think he hasn’t been utilised well,” RP Singh said while replying to a PTI query during a promotional event where the Indian team’s jersey was unveiled for the inaugural World Championship of Legends.

“The utilisation of the bowlers also depends on their captain, in which conditions he uses them, in which situation he makes them bowl and how best that he thinks his bowler is.” RP Singh, feels that wicket at Nassau County will be on the slower side and Arshdeep rather than bowling pacey length deliveries should focus on cutters.

“Talking about the length on the tracks in USA during an early morning start, as per my understanding, there should a bit of slowness in the wicket. So, the ideal length will be somewhere around just short of good length.

“There will be not a lot of swing for the bowlers but the bowlers with variations, not only just yorkers but also slower ones, leg and off cutters. These deliveries will be utilised a bit more by Arshdeep, so the success rate will be automatically higher for him and that’s what I understand the wickets in the US.” RP feels that Jasprit Bumrah should ideally bowl three overs in the back-10 as that would put pressure on opposition batting unit.

“Death bowling is really important in T20 cricket. Bumrah may bowl three overs in the death. He is our mainstay there. My preference alongside Bumrah in the death is Arshdeep over Siraj because of the variations he has. I think Siraj can be impactful in a game when he is bowling with the new ball. Otherwise, it should be Bumrah and Arshdeep.” Arshdeep, as a left-armer, will always create those difficult angles for right-handers and hence becomes an important cog in the wheel. The World T20 reserves also has another left-armer in Khaleel Ahmed.

“Left arm pacers are always an advantage especially against right-handed batters. It is not like two or more left-arm seamers can’t play together. Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra and I have played in multiple games together.” For the perfect balance, Hardik Pandya needs to bowl his full quota of overs as it would give the team the luxury to play three specialist spinners and a chance to include Yuzvendra Chahal alongside Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja in the eleven.

“Hardik bowled in the IPL and bowled four overs so there’s no injury scare. Hardik’s bowling will be important and he will have to bowl all his quota of 4-overs. If Shivam Dube bowls too, then it will be an added advantage for India ahead.

“Shivam may not play some matches initially but whenever he plays, he will perform well and score runs for India.”