Royal Challengers Bengaluru batting coach and mentor Dinesh Karthik believes Andy Flower would be an outstanding candidate to succeed Brendon McCullum as England’s Test head coach but feels the Zimbabwean is unlikely to leave the IPL franchise because of his existing commitments.England are searching for a new Test coach after McCullum stepped down from the role following a disappointing run in red-ball cricket. While he will continue to oversee England’s white-ball teams, the Test side is looking for a fresh leader after the end of the ‘Bazball’ era.Flower, who previously guided England to the top of the ICC Test rankings and their last Ashes triumph in Australia, has emerged as one of the names linked with the vacancy. However, Karthik believes balancing England’s Test calendar with Flower’s commitments at RCB would be extremely difficult.“In all seriousness, I think he’ll be a great candidate,” Karthik said on the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast.“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 used to do a lot of leagues, and I’m sure that he didn’t have time. 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, [it’ll be very difficult]. Like, 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?'”Karthik also questioned whether England could accept their Test coach missing matches during the IPL, pointing to Flower’s commitment with Royal Challengers Bengaluru.“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? 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.”Despite those concerns, Karthik had no doubts about Flower’s coaching credentials.“Is he good? Definitely. He is probably one of the best in the world, if not the best. Will he have time? That’s the question. I would be very surprised if the answer is a yes,” he said.Flower joined RCB ahead of the 2024 IPL season on a three-year deal and has remained a key figure in the franchise’s coaching set-up. While he is among the leading contenders to replace McCullum, Karthik believes the demands of international cricket and franchise commitments make such a move difficult to envisage.
