After Indian coach Anil Kumble has stepped down from his post following India’s defeat in the hands of Pakistan in Champions Trophy Final, BCCI is in the hunt for a new coach.
There were reports of rift being created between Kumble and captain Virat Kohli during the Champions Trophy. It is believed this rift has led to his resignation from the post of head coach.
BCCI started the process of appointing the new coach in May 2017 by inviting applications from interested candidates. Anil Kumble’s name was automatically roped in. Others who threw their hat in the ring were Virender Sehwag, Tom Moody, Richard Pybus, Lalchand Rajput, Dodda Ganesh.
The new coach is supposed to be picked by the CAC which comprises of Indian legends Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly.
Later on, the BCCI decided to extend the cut-off date to 9 July in a bid to invite more applications. The candidates to come to the party during this period were Lance Klusener, Ravi Shastri, Phil Simmons, Rakesh Sharma and surprisingly a 30-year-old construction engineer named Upendranath Brahmachari.
As per sources, the Cricket Administration Committee (CAC) is going to interview only 6 of the 10 candidates, the likely ones being Shastri, Sehwag, Moody, Pybus, Rajput. Since Shastri has a great cricketing brain, good man management skills and backing of Virat Kohli, he has the better chance than anyone else to make it.
Sehwag is another front-runner for the post. He has worked with KXIP ad mentor for 2 years. Other candidates Moody, Simmons, and Pybus cannot be totally ruled out, even though their chances are not the brightest.
Lance Klusener, Dodda Ganesh, Rakesh Sharma are the underdogs in the race while Brahmachari is virtually ruled out because of no cricketing expertise. The new coach will serve India till the 2019 World Cup.
