Virat Kohli's Opinion On Head Coach Will Not Matter - Anshuman Gaekwad

Cricket Advisory Committee member Anshuman Gaekwad has stated that Indian captain Virat Kohli’s opinion will not matter in the selection of the new coach. Kohli has already given his preference as he backed the current coach Ravi Shastri to retain the head coach role. In the recent press conference, Kohli stated that the whole team would be happy if Shastri gets the role once again as the team shares a good bond with him.

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In fact, it is well known that Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri share a great bonhomie with each other. Meanwhile, Anshuman Gaekwad had recently said that Shastri will have a good chance of holding onto his position as the team has done well under his tenure of the coach.

Will Kohli’s advice matter?

On the other hand, Virat Kohli had also clarified that he has not been contacted by the Cricket Advisory Committee yet. CAC will conduct the interview in mid-August.

“The CAC hasn’t contacted me yet. If they want my opinion, I’ll go and speak to them. With Ravi Bhai, we share a great camaraderie, and will definitely be very happy if he continues. But I haven’t been contacted so far,” Kohli had said in Mumbai.

Gaekwad reiterated that the captain can give his choice but their decision will not get influenced by the same.

“The captain can say anything. It doesn’t bother us. We are a committee. That’s his opinion and the BCCI takes a note of it, not us,” Gaekwad was quoted as saying by IANS.

“We have to go with an open mind. There are interviews to be conducted. A lot of people from India and abroad have applied. We have to go there and assess things,” Gaekwad added.

The former Indian coach Anshuman Gaekwad said that the Board of Control for Cricket in India will give them guidelines. Gaekwad said that they had not contacted anyone when they had selected WV Raman as the women coach and they won’t do it again.

Depends on the BCCI.

“It all depends on the BCCI. BCCI has to give us guideline and then we will go accordingly. He has already said yesterday (what he wants). When we chose the women’s coach, we did not contact anybody. We did it on our own,” said Gaekwad.

Gaekwad said he has the experience of coaching the national side and knows what are the qualities needed. Former Indian captain Kapil Dev who is the head of the Cricket Advisory Committee also has the same experience. The former coach said man-management plays a key role in the handling of the team.

“Basically, what is important is…I have been a coach. Kapil has been a coach. What is important is man management, planning, and technical expertise.”

“These three things are most important for a coach to succeed. The Indian team is doing well. But to get them to do better these are the three things. There are a lot of things. But these are the main things.”

Meanwhile, the current support staff has been given an extension of 45 days for the tour of the West Indies. Many former players have thrown their hat in the ring for the head coach role and it would be interesting to note who will get the prestigious job.