The Indian cricket team have been playing the sport since 1932 and has been active in it. They are now one of the top sides in history and among the most successful ones. Team India had their first ever coach in 1971, and since then, India have seen a number of coaches over the years.
Rahul Dravid, PR Man Singh, and Gary Kirsten are some of the most successful coaches ever who have won the World Cup title during their stints. There are a few who have had the head coach role for India on more than one occasion. In this article, we will talk about the India national cricket team coaches from the start.
List of India national cricket team coaches: Full List 1971-2024
| No. | Coaches | Stint | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Keki Tarapore | 1971 | India |
| 2 | Hemu Adhikari | 1971-74 | India |
| 3 | Gulabrai Ramchand | 1975 | India |
| 4 | Datta Gaekwad | 1978 | India |
| 5 | Salim Durrani | 1980-81 | India |
| 6 | Ashok Mankad | 1982 | India |
| 7 | PR Man Singh | 1983-87 | India |
| 8 | Chandu Borde | 1988 | India |
| 9 | Bishan Singh Bedi | 1990-91 | India |
| 10 | Abbas Ali Baig | 1991-92 | India |
| 11 | Ajit Wadekar | 1992-96 | India |
| 12 | Sandeep Patil | 1996 | India |
| 13 | Madan Lal | 1996-97 | India |
| 14 | Anshuman Gaekwad | 1997-99 | India |
| 15 | Kapil Dev | 1999-2000 | India |
| 16 | John Wright | 2000-05 | New Zealand |
| 17 | Greg Chappell | 2005-07 | Australia |
| 18 | Ravi Shastri | 2007(Interim) | India |
| 19 | Lalchand Rajput | 2007-08 | India |
| 20 | Gary Kirsten | 2008-11 | South Africa |
| 21 | Duncan Fletcher | 2011-15 | Zimbabwe |
| -18 | Ravi Shastri (team director) | 2014-16 | India |
| 22 | Sanjay Bangar | 2016(Interim) | India |
| 23 | Anil Kumble | 2016-17 | India |
| -22 | Sanjay Bangar | 2017(Interim) | India |
| -18 | Ravi Shastri | 2017-21 | India |
| 24 | Rahul Dravid | 2021-2024 | India |
| 25 | VVS Laxman | 2024 (Interim) | Indian |
| 26 | Gautam Gambhir | 2024- | India |
Keki Tarapore (1971)
Former Indian cricketer Keki Tarapore was the first person to become the head coach of the India cricket team. He played one Test and 40 FC games in this career. In 1971, he served as the India cricket team coach. Previlously, he was with the team as a manager from 1967.
Hemu Adhikari (1971 – 1974)
Hemu Adhikari was the second India cricket team coach and served for three years. He took on this responsibility in 1971 and 1974. He played 21 Tests and 152 FC matches during his career. Under him, India won their first ever series win in England in 1971 and showed that they could compete at the highest level.
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Gulabrai Ramchand (1975)
Former Indian all-rounder Gulabrai Ramchand was third on the India national cricket team coaches list. In his career, he played 33 Tests and 145 FC games. He also captained India and was the captain when India registered their first Test win against Australia in 1959 in Kanpur. He was the head coach (manager) for India during the 1975 Cricket World Cup.
Datta Gaekwad (1978)
Former Indian captain Datta Gaekwad was the fourth person to become the India cricket team coach. He played international cricket between 1952 and 1961 and played 11 tests. Datta played Tests in England and West Indies. He was with the team as head coach in 1978.
Salim Durrani (1980–81)
Born in Afghanistan, Salim Durrani was a genuine all-rounder who played cricket for India between 1960 and 1973. He represented India in 29 Tests and played a crucial role in India’s first Test win against West Indies. Salim was the India cricket team coach for 1980–81, and he was the first Indian cricketer to win the Arjuna Award.
Ashok Mankad (1982)
Ashok, the son of one of the best Indian cricketers, Vinoo Mankad, was the 6th person on this list of India national cricket team coaches. Ashok played 22 Tests and one ODI for India between 1969 and 1978. After his retirement, he was with India as head coach in 1982.
PR Man Singh (1983-87)
Who can forget the 1983 ODI World Cup, when India became the World Champions under Kapil Dev? But not many would know that PR Man Singh, who was the coach (manager) of the team, also played a big role in making India perform as a unit. Man Singh didn’t play international cricket and only played 5 FC games. His last international assignment as India cricket team coach was the 1987 ODI World Cup, where India reached the semifinal.
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Chandu Borde (1988)
Pune-born former Indian batter Chandu Borde was the India cricket team coach during the 1988 season. He played 55 Tests for India between 1959 and 1968. He also played the role of chief seletor twice, in 1984–1986 and 1999–2002. He was the coach of the team when India visited Pakistan in 1989.
Bishan Singh Bedi (1990-91)
Legendary Indian spinner Bishan Singh Bedi was one of the key members of India’s early struggle to prove themselves worthy of playing international cricket during the early 1970s. He played for India between 1966 and 1979, played 67 Tests and 10 ODIs, and took 273 international wickets. Bedi served as the India cricket team coach between 1990 and 1991.
Abbas Ali Baig (1991-92)
Former Indian Test cricketer Abbas Ali Baig played 10 Tests for India between 1959 and 1966. He was the youngest Indian to score a Test century on his debut outside India, aged 20 years and 131 days. Between 1991 and 92, he was one of the India national cricket team coaches.
Ajit Wadekar (1992-96)
Former Indian cricketer Ajit Wadekar played a handful of games for India at the international level. He played 37 Tests and 2 ODIs between 1966 and 1974 and led India for the first time in 1971. Under his captaincy, India won Test series against West Indies and England. He was India cricket team coach in 1992–96, when Mohammad Azhruddin was the captain. Ajit is one of the few individuals, who has served as Test player, captain, coach/manager, and chairman of selectors.
Sandeep Patil (1996)
Sandeep Patil was a key member of India’s 1983 World Cup-winning team and 1984 Asia Cup-winning team. He was a hard-hitting middle-order batter who played 29 Tests and 45 ODIs between 1980 and 1986. He coached the Indian cricket team in 1996. Sandeep has also served as chief selector between 2012 and 2016. He has also coached Kenya during the 2003 World Cup, when they made it to the semifinals.
Madan Lal (1996-97)
Another member of the 1983 World Cup winning team went on to become the coach of India. Former all-rounder Madan Lal was the 13th individual on India national cricket team coaches list. In his career, he played 39 Tests and 67 ODIs between 1974 and 1987 and coached India in 1996–97. Madan Lal also worked as a member of the selection committee in 2000–01.
Anshuman Gaekwad (1997-99)
Former Indian batter Anshuman Gaekwad, who is the son of Datta Gaekwad, served as India national cricket team coach between 1997 and 1999 and then in 2000. He played 40 Tests and 15 ODIs between 1974 and 1987. Under his coaching, India reached the finals of the 2000 Champions Trophy.
Kapil Dev (1999-2000)
Former World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev has also served as India’s national cricket team coach. He played this role between 1999 and 2000. But it didn’t work out as well as he would have liked. As a player, he was among the best that the game has ever seen and was active between 1978 and 1994. He resigned as coach following a match-fixing scandal in September 2000.
John Wright (2000-2005)
Former Kiwi captain John Wright was the first overseas player to become the India national cricket team coach. He served as head coach for India between 2000 and 2005. During his stint, India had quite a success, with a home Test series win against Australia and drawing a Test series in Australia. India also reached the finals of the 2003 ODI World Cup with him. He resigned in May 2005.
Greg Chappell (2005-07)
The Chappell era brought many chances in Indian cricket history. It saw the introduction of MS Dhoni and the controversy with Sourav Ganguly. The former Australian captain was only the second overseas head coach for India. After the horrible group exit in the 2007 ODI World Cup, Chappell resigned from the head coach post.
Ravi Shastri (2007)
Former Indian all-rounder Ravi Shastri is the only person who has coached India three times. After Chappell’s resignation, he was handed over the responsibility of interim coach in 2007, which was his first stint. Shastri was in that position for a few months only.
Lalchand Rajput (2007-08)
India won their second World Cup title in 2007, when MS Dhoni led the country to win the T20 World Cup in South Africa. Lalchand Rajput was the coach of that young side that made history. He has played only two Tests and four ODIs for India, but as a head coach, his name will be among the top. He served until 2008. Rajput has also coached Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, and the UAE at the international level.
Gary Kirsten (2008-2011)
Former South African top-order batter and captain Gary Kirsten was the third overseas individual to become India national cricket team coach. He took on the responsibility in 2008, and India won the 2011 World Cup under his coaching. India also won the 2010 Asia Cup with him.
Duncan Fletcher (2011-2015)
Former Zimbabwean cricketer Duncan Fletcher also served as head coach between 2011 and 2015. Before coaching India, he also coached England between 2004 and 2008. Under his coaching, India won the 2013 Champions Trophy in England. His contract ended as India ended the 2015 World Cup as semifinalists.
Ravi Shastri (2014 – 2015)
Ravi Shastri’s second stint as head coach and team director was between 2014 and 2016. He coached the Indian team for a few series after Duncan Fletcher’s contract was over. During that time, MS Dhoni announced his Test retirement in 2014, and Virat Kohli became the all-format captain.
Sanjay Bangar (2016)
Having coached India A already, former Indian cricketer Sanjay Bangar was named interim coach in 2016, but he was with the team since 2014 as batting coach. Later in July 2016, Anil Kumble was appointed as head coach, and Bangar was given the role of batting coach once again.
Anil Kumble (2016-17)
Former legendary spinner Anil Kumble joined as India national cricket team coach in 2016 and served until 2017. He didn’t have a great relationship with then captain Virat Kohli and resigned just after one year. His last assignment as head coach was the 2017 Champions Trophy, which India lost in the final.
Sanjay Bangar (2017)
After Kumble resigned at once, Sanjay Bangar was appointed as interim coach for India. He was interim coach for only one tour, which was of West Indies in June-July 2017. Later, Ravi Shastri became the coach, and Bangar was promoted to assistant coach until 2019.
Ravi Shastri (2017-2021)
Ravi Shastri’s third stint as coach was between 2017 and 2021, and it was a successful one. India were at the top of the rankings in all four years and won three consecutive BGT series (including two in Australia) during his stint. He stepped down from this role after the 2021 T20 World Cup.
Rahul Dravid (2021-2024)
Former Indian captain Rahul Dravid coached India’s U-19 side during the 2016 World Cup, where they reached the finals. Later, India won the 2018 U19 World Cup under his coaching. Dravid was appointed as India national cricket team coach in 2021, and he served until 2024. India played in the finals of the 2023 ODI World Cup and the 2023 World Test Championship and ended up winning the 2024 T20 World Cup under his coaching.
VVS Laxman (2024)
Former stylish batter VVS Laxman, who is the head of the NCA in Bengaluru, also served as interim coach for India on some occasions. He latest assignment was India’s tour of Zimbabwe for five T20Is in July 2024.
Gautam Gambhir (2024-To-Date)
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