Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh supports split coaching roles as he wants Ashish Nehra to be India’s next T20I coach

The Indian cricket team in the past year or two have been disappointing in the T20 World Cups. Firstly they failed to make it to the knockouts in UAE and secondly they reached the semifinals and were comprehensively beaten by England in the recently concluded World Cup in Australia. After the disappointment of two World Cup events, many people have suggested different things. Former India cricketer Harbhajan SIngh feels India should select a split coaching role and they must appoint someone like Ashish Nehra for the T20 coaching role.

He believes that the former India pacer will help the team move forward in the shortest format of the game as he is very well versed with this format. Nehra retired recently and has already guided the Gujarat Titans to their first title in their maiden year in the IPL.

Harbhajan feels a split coaching role like England may seriously benefit India with Nehra taking the reins in T20 whereas Rahul Dravid continuing the coaching role in ODI and Test cricket. “In T20 format, you can have someone like Ashish Nehra who recently retired from the game. He [Nehra] knows this better than – with all due respect – Rahul,” Harbhajan shared his opinion to ESPN Cricinfo.

He is of the opinion of allowing Nehra and Rahul to work together ahead of the next World Cup but he feels appointing someone who has played the shortest format more recently and is well versed with it would surely help the team. “We [Dravid and he] have played together for so many years. He has vast knowledge, but this is a tricky format. Someone who has played the game more recently is better suited for the coaching job in T20s. I am not saying you remove Rahul from T20. Ashish and Rahul can work together to build this team for the 2024 World Cup,” the former India off spinner shared.

Nehra called time on his career only in 2017 and has been an active T20 player right before it. He has also played the format a lot more than Rahul Dravid who walked away back in 2013. So Nehra has experience in this format and understands the circumstances more in the shortest format. He was also the mentor of the Gujarat Giants who won the IPL title in their first year. Nehra was seen always helping youngsters and giving them suggestions during and after the game. Hence Harbhajan Singh feels Ashish Nehra can be a very good option for the Men in Blue as he backs split coaching roles in Indian cricket.