Why didn’t Gavaskar consider coaching India?

Key sentence:

• Sunil Gavaskar is likely to be remembered as the best coach Indian cricket has ever had. 
• You must also be a ball-by-ball observer if you wish to be a coach or a selector. 

Aside from becoming the first batter to score 10,000 Test runs and possibly India’s greatest batsman, Sunil Gavaskar is likely to be remembered as the best coach Indian cricket has ever had. 

Gavaskar withdrew from cricket in 1987, but he had no interest in becoming a coach. He used his incredible cricket knowledge as a journalist for several newspapers and then moved into cricket commentary.

During the 1990s, Indian cricket passed through several coaches, including Bishan Bedi, Ajit Wadekar, Sandeep Patil, Madan Lal, Anshuman Gaikwad, Kapil Dev, etc. Still, Gavaskar never volunteered to undertake the job. The Little Master revealed why he would have made a terrible coach.

“Even when I was playing cricket, I was a horrible spectator of the game.” If I were to leave, I would only watch the game on a sporadic basis. I’d watch for a bit, then walk into the changing room to read or respond to mail, and then come back out to watch again. 

So, unlike GR Vishwanath, I wasn’t a ball-by-ball observer. My uncle Madhav Mantri, or GRV, was a complete ball by ball observer. 

You must also be a ball-by-ball observer if you wish to be a coach or a selector. As a result, I never even considered it… being a coach,” Gavaskar remarked in response to a question on the ‘The Analyst’ YouTube channel.

However, Gavaskar’s absence from coaching did not preclude him from contributing his expertise in whatever manner he could. 

While he may not be in the news for his work with the current crop of Indian players, Gavaskar was idolised by the generation before him, which was governed by The Fab Four of Indian cricket.

“Having said that, people have approached me. Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Ganguly, Sehwag, and Laxman come to mind. So I’ve been delighted to share my observations with them… whatever they may be. So, yeah, I’ve been able to assist them in the future, but that’s not something I could do full-time,” Says the former captain of India.”