The Indian Coach Saga: Who Are The Candidates?

A few days ago former Indian cricket team captain and team India director Ravi Shastri has decided to apply for the post of Indian cricket team?s head coach, opening new opportunities for BCCI. On Thursday, another report has surfaced, confirming that former Indian seamer Venkatesh Prasad is also applying for the position of head coach but this is nothing new, each day we are getting new news but no results.

How did it start?

Before the Champions Trophy, some reports suggested that Virat Kohli is not happy with the coaching style of Anil Kumble. The BCCI’s advisory panel of Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, and VVS Laxman – was expected to broker peace between Kumble and Kohli but they failed to do that. After India lost against Pakistan by 180 runs, Kumble resigned from the post. The coach saga started when the first report suggested the tension between Kumble and Kohli but it turned into a bigger problem when Kumble resigned.

Who are the applicants for the post?
BCCI invited fresh applications on 23 June after Kumble stepped down. Virender Sehwag, Tom Moody, Lalchand Rajput, Richard Pybus and Dodda Ganesh, for now, are the five shortlisted candidates. The board decided to stretch the deadline for fresh applications to 9 July from 31 May. These candidates applied before the resignation of Anil Kumble but Sachin Tendulkar has entered the fray and asked ex-India director Ravi Shastri to apply for the post of the Indian cricket team head coach. Other reports are suggesting that Venkatesh Prasad is also applying for the post.

When will BCCI announce the new coach appointment?
The Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) will appoint the new coach among all above candidates. BCCI has stated that they will decide the right candidate for the job before 26th July when India will tour Sri Lanka.