AB de Villiers Opens Up On Possibility Of India Head Coach Role: ‘Anything Is Possible’

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is currently in the process of finding a successor for Rahul Dravid, whose tenure as the head coach of the Indian cricket team is set to conclude after the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.

Meanwhile, former South African captain AB de Villiers has opened up on the prospects of him replacing Rahul Dravid, taking on the role of head coach for the Indian team.

AB de Villiers indicated that if an opportunity arises in the future, he could potentially become a coach for the Indian team. However, he has admitted that coaching is not currently a role that greatly appeals to him.

“I absolutely have no idea. I do think I’ll enjoy coaching. I think there’s certain elements I won’t enjoy as much, which I will have to learn. With time, anything is possible and I can think on my feet and learn as I move on,” De Villiers told News18.

“But I think there are elements of a coaching job that I’ll enjoy a lot. Things that I’ve learned over the years, the maturity that I’ve got now at the age of 40, looking back, a lot of things look a lot clearer when I look back at my career. So those kind of learnings could be valuable for some younger players, even some senior players,” De Villiers added.

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) coach Justin Langer snubbs idea of applying for India’s head coach role following captain KL Rahul’s “advice” 

Lucknow Super Giants coach Justin Langer revealed that he has opted not to apply for the position of Team India head coach after KL Rahul highlighted the pressure and politics present in Indian cricket.

“It would be an amazing job, [but] I have [put myself out of contention]. You never say never,” Langer said on BBC’s Stumped podcast. 

“And the pressure of doing it in India… I was talking to KL Rahul and he said, ‘You know, if you think there’s pressure and politics in an IPL team, multiply that by a thousand, [that’s] coaching India. That was a good bit of advice, I guess. It would be an awesome job, but not for me at the moment,” said Langer.