Reports: BCCI keen to replace Ravi Shastri with another Indian coach
As head coach Ravi Shastri assembles his Team India squad for one 'last dance' at the ICC T20 World Cup this week, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will start the process of selecting his successor.
Shastri's tenure as head coach will end in November. With the former cricketer having already expressed his desire not to seek an extension, the BCCI is on the lookout for a new coach for the men's team.
The names of several high-profile foreign coaches like Ricky Ponting and Mahela Jayawardene are floating around. However, if reports in media are to be believed, the board is looking for an Indian for the high-profile job.
A BCCI source involved in the process told the Hindustan Times:
"The new head coach will be an Indian. Unlike the IPL, the Indian coaching job is a round-the-year job and man-management works out a lot better with an Indian coach.”
Along with Shastri, the tenures of bowling coach Bharat Arun, fielding coach R Sridhar will also come to an end. A call on the future of batting coach Vikram Rathour is yet to be taken.
We have had conversations with leading Indian players: BCCI official
Ever since it became clear that Shastri would not get a contract extension following the T20 World Cup, there have been rumours that the BCCI were looking to bring former coach Anil Kumble back into the Indian set-up.
Kumble's maiden sting as Team India coach ended in tumultuous fashion back in 2017 when he resigned stating that his relationship with skipper Virat Kohli had become 'untenable'.
It is believed that President Sourav Ganguly was keen to bring Kumble back but other members of the board weren't in favor of the decision.
The BCCI has also held discussions with former captain Rahul Dravid. However, the NCA chief seems to have 'politely' refused the offer. The same BCCI official said:
“We have had conversations with leading Indian players. Although their suggestions are not binding, there is no point in creating a potential disturbance in the dressing room."
BCCI spoke with batting legend Rahul Dravid and asked if he would be interested in coaching Team India. Rahul has politely refused. He would like to concentrate on junior cricket and the National Cricket Academy (NCA) that's based out Bangalore.
Other names that are in the mix are VVS Laxman, Zaheer Khan and Virender Sehwag. The trio have been involved in coaching stints with different IPL franchises in the past.