"Not At All, I Am Happy With What I Have Achieved" - Virender Sehwag Speaks On Rejecting The Indian Head Coach Position

Virender Sehwag, the renowned Indian opener, had the chance to become the head coach of Team India before Anil Kumble’s tenure ended. Sehwag recently appeared on News18 India Chaupal and disclosed why he didn’t accept the job.

During Kumble’s tenure, Virat Kohli was the captain of the Indian team, and the two didn’t see eye to eye. It was a well-known issue that Kumble and Kohli had conflicts, and Ravi Shastri became the head coach after Kumble’s departure.

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Despite this, Sehwag was offered the position of head coach during Kumble’s final months in charge. When questioned about his missed opportunity to lead the Indian team and become coach, Sehwag gave a fitting response.

Virender Sehwag Speaks On Not Accepting The Indian Head Coach Position

Virender Sehwag shared that the main factor behind his decision to decline the offer of becoming India’s coach was his lack of autonomy in selecting his own support staff. If BCCI secretary Amitabh Choudhary hadn’t approached Virender Sehwag, he wouldn’t have shown interest in applying for the top job, the 44-year-old disclosed.

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“Not at all, I’m happy with what I achieved. Coming from a small family of farmers from Najafgarh I got the opportunity to play for India, got so much love and appreciation from fans and even if I would have captained Team India I would have gotten the same respect,” said Sehwag.

“I wouldn’t have applied if Virat Kohli and then BCCI secretary Amitabh Choudhary hadn’t approached me. We had a meeting, and he (Choudhary) told me that things weren’t working out between Virat Kohli and Anil Kumble we want you to take the coaching position. He told that me that Kumble’s contract will expire after the Champions Trophy in 2017 and then you can travel to West Indies with the team,”

“I didn’t say yes or no, but I said if I travel to West Indies, I would want my coaching staff, the assistant coach, bowling coach, batting coach and the fielding coach. I want my own choice for the support staff and I didn’t get that choice so I didn’t travel to West Indies,” 

It could have been interesting to see if Virender Sehwag would have decided to take up the offer and take the job, we could be seeing a different brand of Indian cricket.

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