Sourav Ganguly to announce the head coach today? Here's what he has to say

Sourav Ganguly, one of the three men that constitute the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), has said that he will meet Vinod Rai, the head of the CoA. It came as a big surprise to Ganguly when CoA directed the CAC to announce the name of the new head coach by Tuesday itself. Ganguly states that he has sought the permission of the CoA yesterday and will meet Vinod Rai for the same.

The interview process for the high-profile job was concluded yesterday in Mumbai. The three-man panel interviewed Ravi Shastri, Virender Sehwag, Lalchand Rajput, Richard Pybus and Tom Moody. But Ganguly wanted to buy a little time before announcing the name of the selected candidate as he wants to meet Virat Kohli before the decision is finalised. According to sources, Virender Sehwag is said to be the frontrunner to get the job and is closely followed by Ravi Shastri. But all depends on what Kohli has to say about both candidates.

“Will speak to Vinod Rai as what was decided yesterday was with permission,” Sourav Ganguly said to ANI. He continued saying: “He (Virat Kohli) will be consulted on coach selection.”

Adequate measures are been taken to avoid another confrontation between the coach and the captain. While Ganguly doesn’t want to make a decision at all before speaking to Kohli, CoA is showing urgency and pushing the CAC in announcing the name of the candidate ahead of the Sri Lanka tour. In all probability, the team will set foot in Sri Lanka without a head coach.

So as things stand, Ravi Shastri is a preferred choice of skipper Kohli while the CAC has more or less decided upon Virender Sehwag as the successor of Anil Kumble. The panel was particularly impressed by Sehwag’s vision for the 2019 World Cup. It remains to be seen how the meeting between the CAC and Virat Kohli goes.