‘Virat must know coaches work in a certain way’
MUMBAI: Sourav Ganguly has sent out a strong message to India skipper Virat Kohli by putting on hold the decision to appoint the new head coach. Ganguly, who is part of the Cricket Advisory Committee, said BCCI will announce the coach’s name once everyone is on the same page. “Virat also needs to understand how coaches operate. That’s the best way forward,” said Ganguly. The CAC decided to first discuss its choice of coach with Kohli in order to avoid a situation that led to the unceremonious exit of Anil Kumble, their chosen candidate last year. “We have decided to hold the announcement. We need a few days to talk to a few more players and the captain before making an announcement because we feel that there is no hurry at the moment,” said Ganguly. “We want to speak to Kohli once he is back from the Caribbean. We will explain to him that coaches function in a certain way and make sure that everybody is on the same page before we make the announcement because once we make it, the decision will stay till the World Cup,” said Ganguly.
At the start of the process, Shastri was the frontrunner but it seems like his appointment may depend entirely on Kohli’s backing as Virender Sehwag and Tom Moody seemed to have put up impressive presentations.
“Everybody wants good for the team whether it is Virat, Anil (Kumble) or the five people who were interviewed today. All of us sitting here want the best possible thing for Indian cricket. But everybody has to be on the same page,” Ganguly added.
“They have (presentations made) been outstanding, especially some of the names which we have been discussing. I am surprised and happy when we heard about how they want to go about their job,” Ganguly said.
He added that Kohli refrained from giving his inputs to the CAC. “You got to give credit to Virat. He gave no inputs, he has not sent any names but we feel as the advisory committee that he is the captain which is the most important thing in cricket. He and everyone of us need to be on the same page because Indian cricket is more important,” Ganguly said.