Phil Simmons Pulls Out Of India Head Coach Race, Ravi Shastri Remains Favourite

The selection process to pick the next Team India head coach is currently underway at the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) headquarters in Mumbai. In a surprising turn of events, former West Indies opener Phil Simmons has pulled out of the race at the last minute. Phil Simmons is one of the six shortlisted candidates for the high-profile job.

The other five candidates are are incumbent Ravi Shastri, Lalchand Rajput, Robin Singh, Tom Moody and Mike Hesson. All the candidates were short listed by the Kapil Dev-led Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) for interviews. According to reports in Hindustan Times, Phil Simmons has now decided to not undergo the process in Mumbai.

Mike Hesson, Robin Singh, Lalchand Rajput have already given their interview. On the other hand, favourite Ravi Shastri is expected to make his presentation at around 5 pm. A hour later, the CAC will hold a press-conference to announce the name of the new coach.

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Shastri, nonetheless, looks favourite to bag the job once again. A lot of factors are in his favour which make him standout from the other candidates. Shastri is a very popular figure among the players as he has a long association with the team. He is currently in his second stint at the helm, having also donned the role of the Team Director earlier.

During his first tenure, India reached the semi-finals of the 2015 ICC World and the 2016 ICC World T20. In his current tenure too, India reached the semifinal of the World Cup 2019. Earlier this year India won their maiden Test series in Australia under Shastri’s watch. Shastri’s strong rapport with skipper Virat Kohli also puts him ahead of the rest.

Meanwhile, the new coach will get a two-year contract which will come to an end after the World T20 in 2021.

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