New Delhi: Duncan Fletcher's 4-year association with Team India ended after a semi-final loss against Australia in World Cup earlier this year.
Since then Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has been searching for the suitable candidate to fill the vacant position.
The names of Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and Ravi Shastri are doing rounds for the job. Interestingly, most of the cricket experts are batting for an Indian coach.
Team India will fly to Bangladesh for 1 test and three ODIs on June 7, and it will be a challenge for the Indian board to finalise the name of the coach.
BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur said that the final decision will only be taken if test captain Virat Kohli and ODI captain MS Dhoni agree with the name.
Here we bring to you some names of Indian coaches who made outstanding contributions to Indian cricket:
Gary Kirsten (2007-2011)
Team India suffered a humiliating loss in 2007 World Cup and also went through a tough time with Greg Chappell as a coach. But when the Proteas arrived in India, he turned out to be a blessing for India.
He had a perfect stint with both senior and junior players and played a crucial role in evolving a well balanced winning unit and had been the most successful Indian coach ever.
The Dhoni-Kirsten duo had some memorable experiences together which includes the no. 1 test ranking in 2009. He also coached India to its first bilateral series win in Sri Lanka against Sri Lanka and India's first Test and One-Day International series victories against New Zealand in New Zealand after 40 years.
But in his last major campaign for India in 2011, the players gave him a perfect gift by winning the World Cup after 28 years which is certainly the best for him and the fans.
Also known as Guru Gary, he was hailed by skipper MS Dhoni as the ‘best thing that ever happened to Indian cricket.'
John Wright (2000-2005)
John Wright was the first foreign coach appointed in the year 2000. In his tenure as Team India's coach, we witnessed the epic test match in 2001 against Australia in Kolkata under the captaincy of Sourav Ganguly.
VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid and Harbhajan Singh pulled off an incredible win which ended Australia's record unbeaten run.
India also had a chance of winning their second World Cup in 2003 when they met Australia in the finale which was probably the best partnership of John Wright with Indian players.
Duncan Fletcher (2011-2015)
Former Zimbabwean cricketer didn't have a much impressive stint with Team India in his 4 years of coaching tenure.
Along with MS Dhoni, he guided India to some of the memorable victories which included 2013 champions trophy and first bilateral series win in England after 24 years.
His tenure ended with a distressing loss against Australia in the World Cup 2015 semifinal and now BCCI is looking for his replacement. But he will still be remembered for India's top rankings in limited over cricket.
Ajit Wadekar (1992-1996)
Ajit Wadekar during his time led Team India to the top of world cricket with players like Sunil Gavaskar, Gundappa Vishwanath and Farokh Engineer.
An aggressive no. 3 batsman, a skilled slip fielder and a tactical skipper, Wadekar who led India to its maiden series wins in West Indies and England, had a pleasant tenure as a coach too.
Under the captaincy of Mohd. Azharuddin, Wadekar's coaching career was decorated with some of the memorable test wins in early 1990s and he was always seen motivating his boys.
Anshuman Gaekwad (1997-1999)
Anshuman Gaekwad coached Indian team for two years from 1997 to 1999 and did a remarkable job in limited overs cricket.
He shared a good bond with the then skipper Sachin Tendulkar and also won few tri-series in his tenure.
Gaekwad didn't have good association with the board and was removed in a hasty decision.
However, he took up the job once again when Kapil Dev quit this job in 2000.
