Candidates for the position of India head coach to face Interview on July 10

With the deadline for filing the application for the post of the Head Coach of the Indian Team set to end on July 9, the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) would be interviewing the candidates for India’s next head coach on July  10. Despite the rumours of a rift between coach Anil Kumble and captain Virat Kohli, the CAC had decided that Kumble would continue.

However, after the exit of Kumble, the invitation for the candidates was opened again. After the first announcement, five men had applied: Lalchand Rajput, Dodda Ganesh, Richard Pybus, Tom Moody and Virender Sehwag. Most recently Ravi Shastri and Venkatesh Prasad have also put in their hats in the ring for the post.

Three of the seven applicants have prior coaching experiences with Team India in different capacities. Lalchand Rajput, presently the Coach of the Afghanistan team, was the manager when India won the World T20 in 2007 and the CB Series in 2008.

The contestants

Shastri was the Director of the Indian team before Anil Kumble took over the post of head coach, he was a part of the management when India reached the 2015 World Cup semi-finals and won the three-Test series in Sri Lanka. If reports are to be believed, it is Shastri who has an upper hand also because Kohli and Co. have a good rapport with him so he could have the backing of the captain and several other players. Before Shastri entered the race this week, Sehwag and Moody were considered to be the favourites.

Venkatesh Prasad, former India seamer, bowling coach and current chief selector of the junior team, is the latest to apply for the India coaching job. He was the bowling coach for two years after he was appointed just ahead of the 2007 World Cup.

BCCI had initially advertised for the head coach on May 25 when Kumble was still at the helm. He had been appointed on a one-year contract in 2016 but eventually resigned following differences with skipper Virat Kohli. The applications were opened again following that and the CAC will take a final call ideally before the end of the ongoing India-Windies series in Carribean before India go to Sri Lanka for a Test series.