BCCI eye Indian coach to bridge language barrier

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has been in the hunt for a new coach for Team India. However, Ajay Shirke, the joint secretary of the board has stated that it would be preferable that the coach is proficient in Hindi.

Among the criteria, the communication of the coach is a requirement. “Communication skills befitting the coach of an International team are mandatory, along with the ability to effectively convey the right messages and must demonstrate proficiency in English. It is desirable to communicate in Hindi and other regional Indian languages.” Shirke said.

In spite of the language restriction, he stated that the language wasn’t a mandatory requirement. However, he also added that a foreign coach would score fewer marks if he didn’t speak Hindi.

“It is not a compulsion, but desirable. Anyway, it doesn’t take much time to learn Hindi, or for the players to learn English. A candidate may get fewer marks if he doesn’t know Hindi, but he may score more points in other areas.”

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“We’ll be going through an entire process, which will be transparent. A panel, which will include former cricketers with an impeccable record will scrutinise all the applications, and ‘grade’ the applicants. In the final stage, we (top Board officials) will take a call after consulting these ex-players, to go for which of the best three-four applicants,” Shirke told TOI on Wednesday.

“It is preferred that the candidate should be qualified through a certification assessment program conducted by any of the full member countries and currently possess such a valid certification,”

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Earlier, BCCI president Anurag Thakur had declared that June 10 is the deadline to apply for the post.