Vikram Rathour joins Pravin Amre in the race to become India’s next batting coach

After India’s heart-breaking semi-final exit from the 2019 World Cup, the BCCI decided to revamp the coaching structure. They invited applications for the positions of the head coach, batting coach and fielding coach. While big names such as Tom Moody, Mike Hesson, Mahela Jayewardene and Robin Singh have applied for the head coach’s post, Jonty Rhodes has applied for the fielding coach’s role.

While there are talks that Ravi Shastri might get an extension, there wasn’t a lot mentioned about the batting coach’s position. It was always up for grabs as Sanjay Bangar’s position has been under threat after India’s middle order struggles and their batting woes in Test cricket overseas. Thus, a few days back one of India’s most prominent faces in the coaching arena Pravin Amre applied for the role. And now, Vikram Rathour has joined the race.

Amre has been one of the go-to men for quite a few Indian cricketers. The likes of Ajinkya Rahane, Robin Uthappa and Suresh Raina have gone back to the former Mumbai batsman for advice. Moreover, he has had a few stints in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as well. Thus, he is certainly one of the strong contenders.

Rathour’s application landed late

Rathour was one of the late applicants for the batting coach’s role. The former Punjab player has been around for a while. He also applied for a spot in the coaching staff with the India Under-19 and India ‘A’ sides. However, his application was rejected by the Committee of Administrators (CoA) due to a conflict of interest. He has also served as the selector of the national team in the past.

Thus, these are two high-profile names that have thrown their hat in the ring. Moreover, these are the two that will be frontrunners for the job as well. Hence, the newly formed Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) which comprises of World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev, former coach Anshuman Gaekwad and former captain of the women’s team, Shanta Ranagaswamy will be picking India’s next support staff. They are spoilt for choice as they sit down to interview and pick the support staff for the next term.