Although Virat Kohli has shown his preference for Ravi Shastri to continue as the head coach of the Indian cricket team, BCCI is keen to select a new one and the process has been already started. The board has shortlisted six candidates who will go through further scrutiny.
The candidates
The six shortlisted candidates are former New Zealand coach Mike Hesson, ex-Australian all-rounder and Sri Lanka coach Tom Moody, former West Indies all-rounder and Afghanistan coach Phil Simmons, ex-India team manager Lalchand Rajput, former India fielding coach Robin Singh, and Shastri.
Hesson coached the Black Caps for six years, that includes their memorable run to the 2015 Cricket World Cup final. Moody after taking Sri Lanka to the final of the 2007 World Cup had successful stints with Kings XI Punjab and Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL. Simmons helped West Indies to win the 2016 World T20 title in India. The Indian candidate Rajput and Robin were already part of the Indian team during inaugural T20 World Cup triumph under Dhoni in 2007. Rajput served the Indian team as the manager whereas Robin was the fielding coach of the team back then. On the other hand, Shastri-Kohli duo has been consistent enough and helped India to become the Number 1 Test team with a historic series triumph in Australia.
BCCI says
The current support staffs of Indian cricket team were given a 45-day extension following the World Cup to cover the ongoing West Indies tour, from August 3 to September 3. The idea is to select the next coach by then. A senior BCCI official told PTI, “These six will give presentation for head coach before CAC. It has been learnt that these six have been short-listed for interview with the CAC.” The newly appointed Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) is headed by the legendary Kapil Dev and comprising Anshuman Gaekwad and former women’s team captain Shantha Rangaswamy. A final decision should be arrived at by end of this week or early next week.
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