Six candidates shortlisted for India head coach role with Ravi Shastri at the forefront

Will Ravi Shastri join the Indian team once again?

What’s the story?

Six applications for the post of the next head coach of the Indian cricket team have been shortlisted on Sunday (June 9), according to reports from the Press Trust of India. Ravi Shastri, Virender Sehwag, Lalchand Rajput, Tom Moody, Richard Pybus and Phil Simmons are the final candidates for the job now. 

All six men will be interviewed by the Cricket Advisory Committee, which comprises of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman. Shastri, who was the Indian Team Director in recent past, is the frontrunner for the post. 

Lance Klusener, who was one of the ten people to have applied for the position, has been put on stand-by as of now.

In case you didn’t know...

Virat Kohli’s men were outplayed by Pakistan in the final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017

Former Indian coach Anil Kumble stepped down from his post two days after the conclusion of the ICC Champions Trophy. In his resignation letter, Kumble had cited an ‘untenable’ relationship with captain Virat Kohli, despite the team doing fairly well and making the final of the Champions Trophy. 

The details 

Shastri, who has an amiable relationship with Kohli, has a significant chance of becoming the next coach of the Indian team. He also had a succesful stint as its director from 2014 to 2016. 

Rajput is the former coach of India A and under-19 teams and is currently with the Afghanistan Cricket team. Sehwag, being the most recent international player in the list of candidates, is also a good candidate for the job.

What’s next?

India are playing the last game of their West Indies tour today. The team travelled to the Caribbean islands without a head coach, and batting coach Sanjay Bangar, along with senior players like MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh, took the responsibility of mentoring the young players in the squad. 

The next coach will be announced before India’s tour of Sri Lanka is underway later this month. The first Test of the tour will be played at Galle on July 26.

Author’s take

The CAC has to be careful while choosing the next Indian coach this time around, considering that the ICC World Cup 2019 is now just a couple of years away. Now, the primary focus of everyone around Indian cricket has to be to build the perfect squad while preparing for the tournament, and to create a steady support staff around the same.