Virat Kohli will have ‘absolutely no say’ in selection of new head coach

After India’s semi-final exit versus New Zealand in the 2019 edition of the World Cup, the team management is set to undergo a few changes. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has floated applications for seven posts, one of them is for the position of head coach, which is currently being held by Ravi Shastri. The last date for application of these posts is on July 30.

The head coach will be selected by the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), headed by former cricketer Kapil Dev, with Shantha Rangaswamy and Anshuman Gaekwad as his colleagues. However, it has been learned that Indian skipper Virat Kohli won’t have any say in the selection of the coach, unlike the last when he expressed his difficulties after his altercation with Anil Kumble.

“Last time, the captain (Kohli) had expressed his difficulty, or the team’s difficulty, with former coach Anil Kumble. In the new selection process, he will have absolutely no say with regards to who becomes the coach. This time, we have Kapil Dev in the coach selection committee, and he will not listen to him (Kohli),” a BCCI official was quoted as saying by Indian Express.

CAC to select both head coach and support staff  

In another change, BCCI, the world’s richest cricket board has decided to select the head coach along with the support staff. Previously, the head coach had the freedom to choose his support staff.

“Support staff will be picked by the selection committee. Normally, we allow the head coach to do that (pick the support staff) for team building. This time, if the head coach is selected (before the selection of the support staff), he might join the process,” the official added.

Ravi Shastri and the other support staff’s tenure has been extended by 45 days and all of them have to re-apply for their positions. India’s next assignment is against the Windies, which gets underway on August 3 and will continue until September 3. Recently, Shankar Basu and Patrick Farhart left the team.

The BCCI in all probability is set to announce the new head coach before the home series versus South Africa, starting September 15.