Ashes 2021-22: Is former India coach Gary Kirsten interested in being England head coach?

England is already 0-3 down in the Ashes 2021-22 and is staring at a whitewash against Australia. A new English coach has also been talked about. Gary Kirsten could be interested in the role.

It has been a below-par performance by England in the 2021-22 Ashes against Australia. Trailing 0-3, it stares at a possible whitewash. A new head coach for England is one of the points discussed. Meanwhile, former South African Gary Kirsten has seemingly hinted at replacing Chris Silverwood for the role.

Kirsten has not managed a national team since 2013 due to family commitments. As far as the role as England head coach is concerned, he had previously applied for it in 2015 and 2019. Since then, he has been guiding domestic Twenty20 (T20) sides like Royal Challengers Bangalore, Hobart Hurricanes, and Durban Heat.

Kirsten was close to becoming the England head coach in 2019 before being beaten by Chris Silverwood at the last moment. Moreover, he revealed that he had an underwhelming interview that was more or less a token, as he felt that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) had already decided to hire Silverwood. Nonetheless, Kirsten is already contracted to ECB as the head coach of The Hundred's Welsh Fire, while he might be willing to guide England under the split coaching role for red and white-ball cricket.

Speaking to iNews newspaper, he said that the England head coach role is a beautiful honour. He stated that even when he had previously applied for the position, he had made it clear that he would not coach the side in all formats. He hinted that he is willing to coach the side in Tests and the One-Day Internationals (ODIs), but not the T20Is.

"The England ODI side is set-up. You're the best ODI side in the world at the moment. It's a project that has been well-thought-out. You've got consistency in the players that have been picked. Your Test side has battled for a while, but it would be a charming project to get that going. I think it's a great project for someone to come in and take that Test side on. There's a lot that needs to be put in place to build this Test team out," Kirsten further added.