Tom Moody and Virender Sehwag in the race for India’s next head coach

Anil Kumble’s premature resignation from the post of head coach has put the BCCI in hot waters. The board is running pillar to post to find an able successor for the coveted post. A lot of names have come in the fray and the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) is weighing out the options put on the table. With July 10 being the D-day of announcing the head coach, the hunt is in full flow.

The BCCI had received a number of applications from the likes of Virender Sehwag, Tom Moody, Lalchand Rajput and Richard Pybus. But it’s still in talks to pick up the best man out of the lot. Interestingly, the administrators of the board had already made up their mind to extend Kumble’s tenure before the later wrote down his resignation to the BCCI.

Those who refused the job

The sudden rift between Kumble and Virat had rattled the board and they are a bit cautious on selecting the next coach. And so they are spreading their reach to every nook and cranny of the world. In the course of that, Mahela Jayawardene has caught their net. Jayawardene has decided to desert the Lancashire league in search of other options and speculations got rife that he may be interested in coaching India. Well, BCCI had to let the prized catch go when the Sri Lankan cleared the false talk by tweeting that he is not mulling for the top post.

BCCI then knocked on the door of former India coach Gary Kirsten who flatly refused the offer owing to personal commitments. Running out of options, the officials decided to chance upon Ravi Shastri. Ravi was the team director of India and a firm favourite of Virat Kohli. Many speculated that the rift developed place because Virat wanted Shastri back. But Shastri with an air of arrogance has said that the board will only hear from him if he is sure that he is getting the job. He doesn’t want to be queued.

The remaining contenders

Tom Moody and Virender Sehwag were the only two prominent names left in the race now. Tom has had a good stint with the IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad where he is the head coach. The Australian has a fantastic record to boast as a coach helping SRH win their maiden IPL title in 2016 and marching them to the playoffs in 2017. Also, VVS Laxman who is a mentor of SRH has worked closely with Tom. So for VVS, it will be easy to talk about him before the CAC.

Lastly, Viru has a wealth of experience and can be a serious contender for the job. The explosive batsman is amicable and is liked by all and sundry. But he will want his own support staff in case he is selected as coach, which may not go well with Kohli.

The board had slated July 9 as the last date of application for the position. Sourav Ganguly, a CAC member has said that they will select a responsible person for the job who can win matches for India. And speculations and controversies will be laid down to rest on July 10.