Former Indian keeper-batter Dinesh Karthik believes that the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) head coach Andy Flower would be a good choice to replace Brendon McCullum as England red-ball coach.
However, Karthik insisted that it is highly unlikely that Flower would walk away from his IPL commitments. Notably, the RCB head coach emerged as one of the front-runners to replace McCullum as the latter parted ways with the England red-ball team.
“In all seriousness, I think he’ll be a great candidate,” Karthik said on Sky Sports.
“He definitely should be one of the names thought of, but I would be very surprised if he took it, considering where England are and his packed schedule as well,” he added.
“I read an article which said that England will be happy to accommodate IPL and then the rest of Test cricket, but with the schedule being the way it is… when Jacob Bethell didn’t come in for the first Test, Jofra Archer not being available, it kicked up a fuss, and there were plenty of people saying, ‘Why? How come one of the players is not there?'”
“With Andy Flower, with an already pre-signed contract with RCB, which would mean that he would miss parts of all those (Tests). Will it be okay for England in the preparation for the Ashes if they don’t have a coach for a Test match or two?” Karthik said.
“I heard there’s a Test match against Bangladesh in May next year, and if Andy Flower is doing RCB, that could be a challenge as well.”
Delving into the details about McCullum’s numbers as England’s red-ball coach: in 49 Tests, the side mustered 27 wins, suffered 20 defeats, and drew two. However, in their last nine Tests, England suffered seven defeats, including the 1-4 Ashes defeat Down Under.
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