Reports: BCCI to announce new Indian head coach before the Champions Trophy ends

Anil Kumble has reapplied for the position of the head coach 

What’s the story?

According to reports from ESPNcricinfo, BCCI is likely to announce the new head coach of Team India before June 18, which marks the last day of the ongoing Champions Trophy. The contract signed by the coach will be valid for two years and would expire in 2019 following the World Cup. 

Anil Kumble, despite getting a re-entry in the coaching process, has officially applied for the job once again. His official contract with BCCI officially ends on June 23, right before the Indian team heads to its tour of the West Indies. 

Reports say that Kumble ensured that his application was one of the first ones in when BCCI opened the process on May 25 and contains a detailed outlook of the former leg-spinner’s vision for Team India and how he wants to go about the same as its coach.

In case you didn’t know...

Kumble, along with Virender Sehwag, Tom Moody, Richard Pybus, Lalchand Rajput and Dodda Ganesh are the six forerunners for the job. 

A few days back, there were incessant reports about captain Virat Kohli and coach Kumble not seeing eye-to-eye. There were also reports that suggested some Indian cricketers are feeling uncomfortable under Kumble’s regimen as it apparently is very tight and inflexible. However, Kohli dismissed all the reports in his pre-match press conference before India’s clash against Pakistan on Sunday (June 4).

The details 

The interview schedule is likely to be decided in the next week as the new coach is to be announced before curtains are drawn on the Champions Trophy. Sehwag had sent a two-line application that was rejected by the panel who asked the former Indian opener to resend the same. 

Kumble will hope to extend his term with the team and to stick with his job until the 2019 ICC World Cup.

What’s next?

The Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), comprising of Indian cricketing greats Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman will interview the candidates applying for the big job. Reports say that VVS Laxman will be staying away from Moody’s interview, because of the time they spent being a part of the supporting staff of Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League.

Author’s take

While the pace with which BCCI is moving things forward is commendable, a full-fledged selection process right at the centre of the Champions Trophy might just be too much of a distraction for the Indian players. 

If the Indian team reaches the final, which it will under most circumstances, the announcement of a new coach might just deter them from investing their entire focus in defending the title they won in 2013.