The story:
Ending all the speculations surrounding his availability for team India head coach’s post, Ravi Shastri, India’s former team director, has confirmed he would apply for the post.
“Yes, I have decided to apply for the job,” he told The Indian Express.
The background:
With Anil Kumble stepping down as Team India head coach earlier than expected, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), last week, extended the timeline for submission of applications for the post to July 9.
Last month, the board had advertised for the post after making it clear that Kumble would not be given a direct extension even after his impressive record. However, after Kumble opted not to renew his contract following rumours of a rift between him and Kohli, the BCCI decided to extend the deadline after realising that a number of eligible candidates may not have applied since Kumble himself had re-applied for the post when it had invited applications last month.
But with Kumble bringing a premature end to his highly successful spell, the board decided to give its Cricket Advisory Committee comprising Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman more options to choose from.
Kumble getting the nod ahead of Shastri last year:
Before Kumble was appointed the coach in June last year, Shastri had taken the position of team director between 2014 and 2016 and had enjoyed good success. During that period, Team India reached the semifinals of both the World Cup 2015 and also the World Twenty20 2016.
He had also applied for the job in 2016 but the CAC chose Kumble over him. The decision turned out to be a good one as under Kumble, Virat Kohli & Co. won Test series against West Indies, New Zealand, England, Bangladesh and Australia. They also won the accompanying limited overs series against New Zealand and England in addition to reaching the final of the recently concluded ICC Champions Trophy.
New coach to be appointed soon:
The Men in Blue are currently in West Indies without a head coach but a new coach is expected to be at the helm before the next month’s Sri Lanka tour.
The new applicants, meanwhile, will join the already shortlisted Virender Sehwag, Tom Moody, Dodda Ganesh, Richard Pybus and Lalchand Rajput.