Former Indian opening batsman Virender Sehwag has expressed his interest in becoming a coach for the IPL side, but he does not want to coach the Indian men’s cricket team. Sehwag retired from all formats of cricket in 2015 and had a stint with the Punjab Kings, where he was the team’s mentor.
However, he recently resigned from his position in August 2018. Speculations were being made that Yuvraj Singh and Rahul Dravid may join Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals, respectively, as a coach. At that time, Sehwag was ready to join any of the ten IPL franchises.
Sehwag prefers only IPL coaching because, unlike other regular seasons, IPL is a shorter tournament and can be completed within weeks. On the other hand, coaching the Indian team requires touring and demanding a lot of time away from home, which he says would not be easy for him with children of 14 and 16 years, respectively, playing cricket in Delhi.
“If I have to coach the Indian team, it will mean getting back to a pattern I set for myself for 15 years, which I can’t do now,” said Sehwag. He said that his children require him to be with them when they gain the necessary experience.
Sehwag made these remarks right after rising Indian cricket star Gautam Gambhir had become the coach of the Indian team. He started his journey with the Indian team somewhat in the middle, for recently, the Indian team performed very well in T20Is and defeated Sri Lanka 3-0.
He recently vomited off-color in the ODIs and lost the series 2-4 to the Sri Lankans. Sehwag believes that a new position will be easier to handle than before because good talent and a good coaching staff are available.
“I do not feel it is a difficult one since they are experienced gentlemen out there in the corporate world,” pointed out Sehwag, “Players know what is expected of them, and Gambhir is definite. ” He made it clear that Gambhir would support it, but he himself said players must come good in the high-profile tournaments.
