Indian legend not interested in coaching Team India

Team India is set to get its new head coach after the 2024 T20 World Cup in June. The new head coach will take charge in July and will hold the position till the 2027 ODI World Cup. Several reports have suggested that the BCCI has approached some foreign legends for the top position.

Recently, Harbhajan Singh showed interest in coaching Team India and hinted that he might apply for the position. He said, “I don’t know if I will apply or not. Coaching India is about man management, not about teaching players to drive and pull. They know it very well. You can give them some guidance. Cricket has given me a lot and if I get a chance to give it back, I will be very happy.”

However, it has now emerged that Harbhajan will not apply for the position of Team India head coach. India Today has reported that the Indian legend has not applied for the post and is not interested in the position at the moment.

Had Harbhajan joined the race, he would have been a frontrunner to become the head coach. But he will not apply for the post.

One of the greatest spinners of all time, Harbhajan has played 103 Tests, 236 ODIs and 28 T20Is. He was part of Team India that won the 2007 T20 and 2011 ODI World Cups. Harbhajan finished his Test career with 417 wickets and 2224 runs. He took 269 wickets in ODIs.

He became an irregular member of the team in 2011 and kept in and out of the team. Even though Harbhajan made several comebacks to Team India in the next five years, he was not a regular in the playing XI.

Harbhajan played his last match for Team India in the 2016 T20 World Cup. He continued to play IPL and announced his retirement in 2021. He was part of the Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2021.

Harbhajan started his IPL career with Mumbai Indians (MI) and represented them from 2008 to 2017. He led the team on a full-time basis at one point during his MI stint. Harbhajan won three IPL trophies with MI.

The senior spinner joined Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL 2018 mega-auction and played for them till IPL 2019. He withdrew from IPL 2020, which was played in the UAE, due to the COVID-19 situation in India. Harbhajan is now a full-time commentator.