While the draw in Manchester was a historic achievement for the Indian Test side, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) are reportedly not happy with the overall functioning of the coaching staff. The efforts at Old Trafford did prevent a defeat that could have sealed the series but with the scoreline still 1-2 going into the final Test, this will be another series under Gautam Gambhir that India hasn't won.
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Starting from the shock 0-3 whitewash defeat at home against New Zealand followed by the 1-3 Border-Gavaskar Trophy loss in Australia, India's red-ball fortunes have been on the downswing. Subsequently, batting stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma announced their retirements with Ravichandran Ashwin quiting midway through the Australia series itself. As a result, the ongoing England tour has officially started the process of transition for the Test side with Shubman Gill taking over as captain of the longest format. The 25-year-old has had a historic debut series as captain, tallying over 700 runs in the process but his captaincy understandably has been a mixed bag.
As per the latest updates, bowling coach Morne Morkel and assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate are set to be sacked after the Asia Cup in September. The duo are allegedly not in the BCCI's good books for now and The Oval Test is set to be their last in the current coaching setup. Gambhir, though, will continue as head coach for now but the former India batter is also running out of time in Test cricket. At present, the BCCI's reluctance for split-coaching model is what is keeping Gambhir's job intact and that is expected to continue. As for Morkel and ten Doeschate, the Board is clearly not impressed with their contributions thus far.
Not too long ago, India's frontline pace attack looked in prime touch with a batter of quicks in reserves. However, fitness issues have plagued the bowling unit as a whole. The bowling strategies have also come under scrutiny from the BCCI and the non-selection of Kuldeep Yadav was also hotly debated by the Board members. The Manchester Test saw India conceding 500-plus in an away game for the first time since 2015. It was also an innings where Jasprit Bumrah conceded 100 runs for the first time in his 47-game career. Morkel, understandably, is in the firing line and the South African's red-ball stint might be over at The Oval.
Meanwhile, the lack of clarity in ten Doeschate's role has also irked the Board and the end is nigh for the Morkel-ten Doeschate duo.
India's next Test series will be in the home season and the new changes in coaching staff are expected to be made after the Asia Cup.
