Mohammad Azharuddin backs Kohli's suggestion of Vettori as head coach

Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) may be looking for the next coach for the national team. But former captain Mohammad Azharuddin said that no Indian is ‘good enough’ to preside over the toughest job in world cricket.

“Nowadays everyone looks to have foreign coaches in whatever sport you can name. I have a strong feeling that the future India coach will be a foreigner. From India I really doubt anybody will be given that opportunity, I don’t see anyone good for that role (after Rahul Dravid declined the offer),” Azharuddin said on Wednesday.

Azharuddin backed Virat Kohli’s suggestion of appointing Daniel Vettori as the head coach. Vettori has been coaching the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League and Big Bash League side Brisbane Heat.

“If India captain (Virat) says (Daniel) Vettori is the right candidate for the job, then I think I will go with him,” he said, adding: “In future I see Virat as someone who would be captaining in all the three formats and I guess everyone agrees with that, with the kind of form he is in right now.”

Sourav Ganguly had earlier commented that MS Dhoni may not last till the 2019 World Cup and so it’s time for Kohli to lead India in all formats of the game. Contrary to Sourav Ganguly’s opinion, Azharuddin feels that Dhoni should be given the freedom to decide when to hang his boots.

“That is definitely Ganguly’s personal opinion. I respect his thoughts but at the same time, it all depends on Dhoni – what he feels about himself and his future. How he feels mentally and physically, how demanding the sport has become over a period of time. He has been a great ambassador for the game. So, we should give him that chance as he has been one of the finest captains India has seen. He has led India to all major trophies and also to the No. 1 position in the world.”

“People go through ups and downs and it’s really hard for them to maintain that level but we also need to look at what he has done in the past and what he’s capable of doing,” Azhar opined.

When asked about the Dhoni’s decision to under-bowl the off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin in the recently concluded ICC World T20 and in the ongoing IPL season, Azhar supported Dhoni’s decision. He feels that Ashwin hasn’t produced results to make his captain give him more overs.

“I think Dhoni is pretty right in that. Ashwin has to understand that he needs to produce results also, with due respect to him, he is a great bowler and performed really well earlier. At the end of the day you need to give results and if you are doing well, the skipper will definitely be giving you more number of overs. Dhoni is someone who has always helped youngsters and has also let other people go ahead of him to bat. So, if a player is not performing, the skipper is sure to lose confidence,” he concluded.

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