After interviewing 10 candidates for the senior Indian national cricket team coach on Tuesday, the Cricket Advisory Committte (CAC) comprising of Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman confirmed that they had already made their decision. The name will be forwarded to BCCI President Ajay Shirke on Thursday, after further deliberations on the matter. A decision can be expected as early as this week, according to sources close to the BCCI.
Sportskeeda has learned that one of the interviewed candidates, former India Test Captain Anil Kumble is in pole position to land the job. According to our source, a final shortlist of six Coaches were interviewed in detail, before coming to a decision. He said, “Anil Kumble, Ravi Shastri, Lalchand Rajput, Stuart Law, Tom Moody and Praveen Amre are the ones the Advisory Committee liked most. Out of them Kumble stood out the most because of his plans across all formats, and his arguments for preparing India for tours abroad. The committee felt a lot of his ideas were feasible, and that it could be implemented in the long run.”
Shastri gave his interview via Skype from Thailand, highlighting India’s growth with him as Team Director. Our source said, “Ravi raised some very good points, but no one within BCCI was happy with India losing the semi-final at home. I think the CAC mimicked those feelings. Shastri didn’t lay down a plan, but made a presentation on how India can improve in limited overs cricket. Unless some major change in terms of negotiations, I see Kumble as the leading candidate. However, you never know with these decisions, evaluation could suggest otherwise.”
Prior to applying for the role, Kumble mentored two Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises in Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore. None of the foreign coaches impressed the panel, with CAC also being instructed to look out for a batting coach. Kumble’s presentation was the longest lasting close to two hours, highlighting the current problems faced by the national team.
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