Team India might get a fast bowling coach soon

As Anil Kumble and Virat Kohli sat down to discuss the pay issues of players and coaches, they also raised the issue of the non-existence of a fast bowling coach. Bharat Arun was the former fast bowling coach till June last year but did not get his contract renewed by the Board. BCCI did not name a successor as well leaving the team with no specialist fast bowling coach.

Kumble and Kohli sat down with the members of Committee of Administrators (CoA) along with the members of BCCI on Sunday and discussed this issue and most likely it will be addressed very soon. India has a rich pool of talented fast bowlers which include Mohammad Shami, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah. Apart from these mainstays, all-rounder, Hardik Pandya is also a genuine fast bowler. The IPL unearthed a few new faces like Basil Thampi and Mohammad Siraj and the Board must tap the talents available and groom them for the future.

Another request of coach Kumble and Kohli was to promote batting coach Sanjay Bangar as the designated assistant coach of the side. Both emphasised his contributions and were of the opinion that he must be paid in the bracket of Rs 3-4 crores. Sources suggest that the CoA has not agreed to this request.

Kumble and Kohli also wanted a professional Team Manager instead of handing the job to a known face who hasn’t done it before. Kumble also delivered a presentation on the pay structure the players expect from the richest board in the world.

After getting a hike of almost 200 percent, Team India is still not satisfied with their pay checks and other countries like Australia and England are paid far more than what the Indians get. The CoA is likely to increase the salaries of the players again but it remains to be seen if they will be up to the expectations of the players or not.