Top 5 High Profile Players Turned Coaches: The role of a cricket coach before the twenty-first century was often reduced to being a manager. John Buchanan and John Wright started the trend of coaches assuming importance. It soon became a matter of prime importance that countries hire high-profile coaches. Let’s have a look at the Top 5 High Profile Player Turned Coaches.
Greg Chappell’s appointment as India’s head coach in 2005 was one such moment. The fact that it ended up being one of the turbulent phases of Indian cricket is a separate matter. But famous players turning out as coaches became the norm rather than the exception.
We Rank Top 5 High Profile Players Turned Coaches:
#5 Ravi Shastri
He won the champions of the champion award in the World Championship, 1985. Ravi Shastri was a limited cricketer but utilized his skills to the hilt. He proudly wore the badge of being a tough cricketer. Shastri was not a newbie when he was appointed as the head coach in 2017. He had the experience of being the team manager in 2007.
Shastri was the team director from 2014 – 2016. He was the players’ favorite. Shastri was unfairly targeted at times for being boisterous about his approach. But he had a largely successful tenure that ended with India’s unexpected league stage exit in T20 World Cup 2021.
#4 Justin Langer
The appointment of Justin Langer as Australia’s head coach came with a lot of riders. He was tasked with not just Australia’s proud showing but also bringing the respect back among the fans. The team had suffered the ignominy of the sandpaper gate scandal. Langer to his credit bought a disciplined culture to the setup. But his methods of being a tough coach didn’t cut ice with senior members of the squad. Despite Langer taking the team to glory with a World Cup win and an Ashes win thereafter, Langer was forced to quit.
#3 Anil Kumble
The Indian fans celebrated Anil Kumble’s appointment as India’s coach in 2016. Virat Kohli and Anil Kumble were expected to take India to greater heights. The duo to their credit did exceedingly well in a short span of time. India lost just a single Test out of 17 they played the whole season. their run came to an abrupt end with India’s disappointing loss in the Champions Trophy final.
#2 Brendon McCullum
He is credited with transforming the current New Zealand side. Brendon McCullum took over the captaincy reigns in 2013 when New Zealand cricket was at its lowest. He led the side with aplomb taking them to the finals of the ODI World Cup in 2015. New Zealand played an exciting brand of cricket under his leadership. It was this very reason that England was so keen to rope him as their head coach. McCullum is the Test head coach of England. In just his short stint so far, England has already started looking impressive.
#1 Rahul Dravid
Arguably the most high-profile player on the list became the head coach of the Indian cricket team in November 2021. It almost became a fan campaign to appoint Rahul Dravid as India’s coach. India previously under Ravi Shastri did quite well but an ICC Trophy eluded him. Rahul Dravid is overwhelmingly expected to fill the vacuum. India has had a mixed run so far under Dravid in under 8 months. But the fans have firmly fixed their eyes on the big prize with Dravid at the helm.
