What's the story?
Ahead of the second edition of the Tamil Nadu Premier League, VB Thiruvallur Veerans coach Bharat Arun confirmed that he is yet to ink a contract to be on the support staff of the Indian cricket team as the bowling coach. Amidst the confusion that is reigning supreme over who will be part of newly-appointed Indian head coach Ravi Shastri’s support staff, there were reports that Arun had been roped in to be the bowling coach.
It is learnt that Shastri wants Arun on his support staff and CoA chairman Vinod Rai also confirmed that the coach will have the freedom to pick his own support staff. According to TOI, when he was asked about whether he got the job from the BCCI, Arun confirmed "Not yet".
While there are some conflict of interest issues that surround Arun, who is currently the bowling coach of the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL and coach of the VB Thiruvallur Veerans in the TNPL, the 54-year-old was clear on what the situation is and would be like.
"As of now, I've to carry on normally, isn't it? If I do get the India job, I'll leave both the TNPL and the RCB," he added.
Extra Cover: Reports: Bharat Arun to be appointed bowling coach of India
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The 54-year-old is among the more experienced candidates in the running to be on Shastri’s support staff. Last season, he was the coach of Hyderabad and the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) officials are keen to extend his contract and he is also currently the bowling coach of RCB and the coach of Thiruvallur Veerans, who recently announced Muttiah Muralitharan as the mentor.
If he does the job, it wouldn’t be the first time that Arun takes over as bowling coach either. During Shastri’s stint as Director of the Indian side between 2014 and 2016, Arun was the bowling coach.
Details
Ever since Anil Kumble stepped down from his role as coach, the process of selecting his replacement can only be best described as chaos. Even the announcement of Kumble’s replacement on July 11 saw reports emerging in the media, only for BCCI to deny them and then eventually confirm them later that same night.
In the days that followed, Rahul Dravid and Zaheer Khan were reported announced as batting and bowling consultants, with the latter on an 150 days per year contract. Shastri then added that he would like his own support staff, only for the CoA to clarify that the new coach will have the opportunity to pick his own staff and that the appointments of Dravid and Zaheer weren’t finalized and merely suggestions from the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC).
What's next?
The decision of who Shastri’s support staff will be looks set to be decided on Tuesday as the coach will meet a committee, which includes Diana Eduljee, BCCI acting president & secretary CK Khanna and Amitabh Chadhuary and CEO Rahul Johri in Mumbai at 2pm.
Author's Take
It is surprising to see that simple job of picking a replacement for Anil Kumble has turned into a circus with so many contrasting reports emerging from various places about who the coach and the support staff are going to be.
The fact that Arun has already stated that he will give up his roles with the IPL and TNPL if he lands the bowling coach job ensures that there will be no conflict of interest issues and with Shastri’s support, it looks like it is only a matter of time before the 54-year-old takes over as the bowling coach.
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