In a surprising development, the Australia National Cricket Team head coach Andrew McDonald is all set to leave the squad midway through the ongoing ODI series against the India National Cricket Team.
This comes as a huge surprise, as only one match has been played so far in the ongoing three-match ODI series between the Shubman Gill-led India National Cricket Team and Mitchell Marsh-led Australia National Cricket Team.
Australia beat India in 1st ODI
India and Australia locked horns with each other in the ODI series opener at the Perth Stadium on Sunday, October 19. It was the first match as the ODI skipper for Shubman Gill, who replaced Rohit Sharma in the role before the Australia tour.
Your daily dose of cricket!
Gill’s poor luck at the toss continued as the coin fell in Mitchell Marsh’s favor, and the Australia National Cricket Team invited the Indians to bat first in the match.
The pitch on the offer was a spicy one and the bowlers got plenty of help from the surface. Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Nathan Ellis made the most of it and dismantled India’s top order, reducing them to 25/3.
From there on, things only got difficult for India as there were numerous rain breaks, and after every break the bowlers managed to pick wickets. Due to multiple interruptions, the first ODI was reduced to a 26-over-per-side contest, and KL Rahul top-scored with 38 to guide India to 136/9.
Chasing the target, Australia lost Travis Head early, but captain Mitchell Marsh led the team from the front by playing a brilliant knock while Josh Philippe and Matt Renshaw made good contributions as the hosts registered a 7-wicket victory.
Andrew McDonald leaves the Australian ODI squad
The second ODI between India and Australia will be hosted by Adelaide Oval on Thursday, October 23, and on Saturday, October 25, the third and final ODI will be played at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Australia will miss the services of their head coach, Andrew McDonald, in the last two matches and will have a new person taking charge.
Andrew McDonald will leave the ODI squad to spearhead a secret Ashes-planning meeting ahead of the high-octane five-match Test series against England.
In the absence of Andrew McDonald, assistant coach Andre Borovec will be serving as the stand-in head coach for the matches against India.
Also Read: Shocking! West Indies create world record by bowling full 50-over ODI innings only with spin vs Bangladesh
As far as I know, it cannot be the coach’s call – Ex-India star
Continuing the discussion on coaches, former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar said that having two different captains in Indian cricket wouldn’t have been head coach Gautam Gambhir’s call; instead selection committee would have taken that decision.
“As far as I know, it cannot be the coach’s call. The coach has to work with the team he has got. It’s not about the coach’s comfort. The coach has to adjust to the team. It’s not the other way round. That’s how it happens in cricket. You have a highly capable batter in Shubman Gill. He has age on his side and has an experience of 5-6 years in international cricket. So, I think it is the selectors who have taken the call,” Bangar said on Star Sports.
Meanwhile, Parthiv Patel said that having two captains instead of three makes it easy for the coach to work things out. He said:
“It’s an absolutely fair call. Coach Gautam Gambhir also mentioned in his interview that people need to think about me also. We have been thinking that the team is of the captain but the way coaches work these days, the effort that goes behind the scenes.
“It’s not easy for them to work with captains, who may have different philosophies, especially if they are not even travelling together. Shubman Gill is one player who travels with the team in all formats. It is not easy to plan and keep communicating. I’m with Gautam Gambhir at this time when he said he needed only two captains and not three.”