New Team India Coach: BCCI opens applications for job, deadline 10 June

BCCI have officially begun the hunt for appointing a new coach for the Indian team by setting June 10 as the deadline in accepting applications from prospective candidates. Speaking to the media, Board President Anurag Thakur revealed that the incoming selection will join Virat Kohli’s Test side prior to the Caribbean tour.

Thakur who recently took over the Presidency from Shashank Manohar, announced, “We will advertise for the post of coach today. And by June 10 anyone who is willing to take up post of coach, they can apply to the BCCI. The candidate will be finalized after that.”

An almost 2-year tenure of Ravi Shastri as ‘Team Director’ had come to an end with the World T20 semi-final defeat against West Indies on home soil. Alongside the former all-rounder, the contracts of Sanjay Bangar (batting coach), Bharat Arun (bowling coach) and R Sridhar (fielding coach) were also not opted to be renewed.

However, Thakur affirmed that preceding members of the coaching staff were open to apply as well. He stated, “It is open for everyone whether [it is] the current support staff, [or] from outside India or within India, anyone who is keen to be a coach with Indian team or take other responsibilities - bowling, batting, fielding coach or the head coach - all these positions would be available.”

The 41-year old from Himachal Pradesh went on to praise the outgoing coaching staff by insisting that they had done a ‘good job in the past and the team had performed well under their leadership’.

Last year, BCCI had formed an advisory panel comprising of legendary cricketers such as Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman to hone in on a long-term coach. But, Ganguly was elected as President of the Cricket Association of Bengal which meant that the 3-member committee was dissolved.

With a hectic calendar in store for the Indians, Thakur divulged that the board was seeking a long-term option who could guide the team until at least the 2019 World Cup. Explaining that this was the reason behind the delay, he asserted, “If you have to go for the best you can't go with limited choices. So we are keeping it open.”

The second youngest BCCI President declared, “Currently our team is No. 2 in Test and T20, and No. 4 in ODIs and women's cricket. We will take every step or whatever is possible to make Team India No.1 in all forms of cricket.”

When queried about the post of Team Director and the possibility of the incumbent choosing his own support staff, Thakur maintained, “Once we see how many people are interested in taking up that job, what is the talent available and who could be the best coach for Indian cricket team then you can take the final decision after that.“

Selection of Indian Team for Zimbabwe and West Indies tours

Meanwhile, the squad for the Indian tours to both Zimbabwe and West Indies will be picked on Monday. Thakur dispelled rumors surrounding the non-availability of senior players for the trip to the African nation by claiming, “Let the selectors decide that.”

He added, “Before any tour if any player wants to take rest, they convey it to the BCCI and the selection committee. Even if the selection committee wants to experiment with new players, they take the senior players into confidence.“

If the more experienced stars are rested, quite a few uncapped cricketers could be handed international debuts. However, the Indian team will return to full-strength for the away 4-Test series against the West Indies which begins on July.