“You need them to work in tandem and together” - Robin Uthappa opines on India’s coaching structure involving Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir, the head coach of India, is being scrutinized once more. In his brief time, he has won an Asia Cup and an ICC trophy, but he has also presided over several high-profile setbacks. India lost to New Zealand at home in their first-ever ODI series on Sunday.  

The concept of split-coaching across formats was revived after the game by former India cricketer Robin Uthappa, who spent several years with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) under Gambhir. The concept of several coaches for different formats was supported by Uthappa.

Uthappa supported the idea of split-coaching, suggesting that it could be a viable option to keep coaches motivated and fresh.

"There are multiple ways to slice a cake. I am very open to having multiple coaches for different formats. India plays a lot of cricket. You feel like the mind also becomes stale when you move from one format to another. Sometimes you are so consumed. You can't really prepare for another format when you are dealing with one at a certain point in time. So you want to have that freshness of mindset and energy as well. From that perspective, I feel it (split-coaching) should work," Uthappa said on his YouTube channel.

Additionally, Uthappa recommended that the team's cohesiveness be taken into consideration when making such a choice.

"It is not an easy call to take. You need them to work in tandem and together. If they are all working against each other, then everyone suffers. To work in cohesion becomes important. Communication lines being open at all times, knowing when someone is going to take the lead and someone taking the backseat, knowing the importance of that. It is possible but it needs to come from a place of building something big," he further said.

In order to expedite decision-making, the former opener also proposed a different approach in which scouts report to a Director of Cricket who collaborates closely with the coaches and administrators.

"If you can have scouts and have them reporting to a Director of Cricket, then the director and coaches are the ones who make the final decision, along with the administrators. I think that is the most productive and constructive way to build teams from here on," Uthappa said.

Gautam Gambhir’s tenure despite the ICC event and Asia Cup wins, has been seen as a disappointment with home Test series whitewashes to New Zealand and South Africa, loss of Border-Gavaskar Trophy after 7 years. India also lost maiden ODI series to Sri Lanka in 2024.

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