Indian cricket finds itself embroiled in a crisis at the moment, following the embarrassing defeat to Pakistan in the 2017 Champions Trophy final with the public spat between captain Virat Kohli and coach Anil Kumble leading to the latter`s resignation.
Amidst all the turbulence, with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) looking for a replacement for the role of the head coach before the senior team heads to Sri Lanka in late July, the name of former team director Ravi Shastri is currently doing the rounds as a possible candidate for the said role, which only means that the BCCI has decided to reopen the applications for the post after the deadline had initially expired on 31 May.
According to a report in CricketNext, the Board has decided to approach Shastri for the role, though the cricketer-turned-commentator has reportedly stated that he will apply for the role only if he is given an assurance that he will be selected for the job.
The final say on Shastri`s appointment though, rests with the BCCI-appointed Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) — comprising of Indian cricket legends Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman — which is also looking through the applications of former India batsman Virender Sehwag, Sunrisers Hyderabad coach Tom Moody, former India manager Lalchand Rajput among others.
"It is no secret that skipper Virat Kohli wants Shastri back at helm and Shastri was spoken to, so that he applies for the interview process, but the former team director isn`t willing to be in a position where his claim is rejected again. He has made it clear that he will speak to the BCCI or CAC on this matter only if he is given a guarantee that he will be handed the job," an unnamed BCCI official was quoted as saying in the report.
Shastri took charge of the team over from Duncan Fletcher, but as the team director and not head coach. His term ended after India`s semi-final exit in the ICC World T20 2016, following which he officially applied for the post of the head coach. Shastri was said to have enjoyed the support of Kohli during his tenure. The CAC though, chose Kumble over Shastri for the position of the coach last year, which led to a war of words between Shastri and committee member Ganguly.
The report further added that the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (COA) made it clear that the final decision of Shastri`s appointment for the post lies with the CAC.
Source: Agencies