India’s support staff is all set to be pressed a hard reset as in addition to the trio of the Head Coach, Bowling and Fielding coach, the Head Strength and Conditioning coach Nick Webb has also decided to not renew his contract with the Indian team after the conclusion of the upcoming T20 World Cup.
Webb took over the role from Shankar Basu after the 2019 ODI World Cup and has decided to move on due to Covid-19 restrictions in place in his home country New Zealand that has kept him away from the family for a majority of the last year.
Announcing his decision on his LinkedIn profile, Nick said that staying so many days away from family would become “unsustainable” post the World T20 and hence he decided to move on.
He looked back at his tenure with the Indian team and said that the men in blue created history while adapting to the face of many challenges in the last two years.
He hoped for the Indian team to have a “big dance” after winning the T20 World Cup in UAE and Oman.
“For the past 2 + years I have had the privilege and honour of representing India, the BCCI and Team India. We have achieved and grown a lot as a team during this time. As a team we created history, we won matches and we lost matches. But how we continually responded and adapted in the face of many challenges along with everyone’s willingness to compete every single day are things that make this team special,” Nick wrote in his LinkedIn post.
“This has not been an easy decision but ultimately I must put my family first. The current COVID restrictions for New Zealand citizens wanting to enter NZ is the primary reason. While these restrictions may ease in the future, the uncertainty of this happening moving forward along with potential 5-8 month stints at a time away from my family has made it unsustainable for me past the T20 World Cup.”
Already the head coach Ravi Shastri, bowling coach Bharat Arun and fielding coach R Sridhar have decided not to renew their association with the Indian side after the conclusion of the T20 World Cup and Nick’s departure will set the stage for fresh faces in almost all positions of Indian support staff.