Shastri Wants India Coaching Job Guaranteed, Won’t Entertain Waitlist

After the dramatic fallout between Virat Kohli and Anil Kumble led to the latter resigning from the post of head coach, the hunt is on for Kumble’s replacement. Former team director, Ravi Shastri was approached by the BCCI for the position of Head Coach. However, an official said?”It is no secret that skipper Virat Kohli wants Shastri back at helm and Shastri was spoken to so that he applies for the interview process, but the former team director isn’t willing to be in a position where his claim is rejected again. He has made it clear that he will speak to the BCCI or CAC on this matter only if he is given a guarantee that he will be handed the job. There is no question of joining a queue and hoping that he is considered for the post,”

Besides Shastri, other applicants include former player Virender Sehwag, Sunrisers Hyderabad coach Tom Moody, former India manager Lalchand Rajput, former Pakistan coach Richard Pybus and former cricketer Dodda Ganesh. Rave has made it explicitly clear that he does not want to be led on a wild goose chase with regard to the post of head coach. The CAC (Cricket Advisory Committee), comprising of Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman, are given the task of selecting the coach of the Indian cricket team from the applicants.

Shastri’s chances of taking the position may prove to be difficult, especially after his conflict with CAC member Sourav Ganguly. He accused Ganguly of not being present for his Skype interview, while Ganguly wanted to meet in person. The CAC had even picked Kumble over the Shastri earlier. But the Committee of Administrators have said that he is welcome to apply again for the position.??The doors are open for Shastri if the CAC wants to interview him. As per the current rules, Shastri is not eligible because he has not submitted his resume. But the CAC has the authority to request the BCCI to allow the interview of candidates from the outside who they deem fit for the position. For that to happen, all the CAC will need to do is submit a special request. But all this can happen only if the CAC wants. If they are happy to interview just those who have applied, then obviously the door is closed for Shastri. It is not something new or unheard of. It happens not only in big corporates, but also in top government positions wherein people from the outside are also interviewed in certain cases. At the end of the day, it is for the CAC to decide what is best for Indian cricket and if they feel the man who can do the job is Shastri, then why not,? said the CoA official