SEHWAG FOR COACH’S JOB: SEVERAL BCCI OFFICIALS PUSHING HIS CASE
NEWDELHI: The BCCI has received the responses of six candidates to its communication seeking applications for the India team head coach’s post. The deadline for applying was on Wednesday.
Virender Sehwag is among the applicants. It is learnt there are four Indians in the fray, including current coach Anil Kumble. Lalchand Rajput and former pacer Dodda Ganesh have applied.
There are two foreigners. Tom Moody, the former Sri Lanka coach and a previous applicant for the India post, is one of them. Englishman Richard Pybus, who had coached Pakistan and is currently involved with West Indies cricket, is the other.
The Indian board had invited applications for the post on May 25. Kumble’s tenure ends with the ICC Champions Trophy and there has been speculation whether he will get an extension.
The record of Anil Kumble, who took over in July last year, has been brilliant and he led the team to five successive series wins --- four at home and one in the West Indies.
The BCCI may be tempted to look at his performance in the ICC Champions Trophy as it will be the first major global event he’ll be in charge.
The selection process comes amidst reports of differences between Kumble and skipper Virat Kohli.
Sachin Tendulkar reportedly spoke to Kohli in a bid to broker peace, but the skipper was not convinced.
However, BCCI’s acting secretary, Amitabh Choudhary, denied any rift between captain and coach. “I’m not aware of any (standoff). It is purely in the realm of imagination,” Choudhary told reporters in Birmingham, where holders India face Pakistan on Sunday.
Asked if there can be smoke without fire, he said: “I don’t see any smoke either. It depends on the visibility.” Choudhary said he frequently spoke to Kumble and Kohli and didn’t see any issues between them, adding that the BCCI was “just following the process.”
Although Sehwag had earlier denied he was approached to apply for the job, it is learnt some top BCCI officials have been pushing his case. His only experience though has been as Kings XI Punjab mentor in the last two seasons. Rajput was manager when India won the World T20 in 2007. He has coached youth teams as well as India A.