Rahul Dravid has emerged as a leading candidate to succeed Brendon McCullum as England’s Test head coach, according to a report in the Daily Telegraph. Andy Flower is also said to be among the frontrunners.
Why the ECB is looking
McCullum’s four-year spell, the Bazball era, ended with England having played 49 Tests, winning 27, losing 20 and drawing two. A poor recent run, with defeats in seven of the last 10 Tests, a 4-1 Ashes loss in Australia and a 2-1 home defeat to New Zealand, led the ECB to seek a new direction.
The candidates
Dravid guided India to the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup title and to the finals of the 2023 World Test Championship and the 2023 ODI World Cup. His calm leadership, tactical discipline and understanding of Test cricket are said to make him attractive. The report also claimed he does not want a full-time coaching job, though the England role would allow long spells at home and a chance to help keep Test cricket thriving, and it suggested England should at least gauge his interest.
Flower, a former England coach, is head coach of Royal Challengers Bengaluru, whom he led to back-to-back IPL titles in 2025 and 2026. Reports say the ECB would allow its next Test coach to combine the role with IPL duties, which could help his candidacy.
Richard Dawson, Kumar Sangakkara, Andrew Flintoff, Mike Hesson and Justin Langer have also been linked with the vacancy.
With next year’s Ashes approaching, the ECB is expected to weigh its options carefully before naming the new Test coach.
