BCCI announces 57 applicants for India coach
The list of 57 will be trimmed by BCCI secretary Ajay Shirke and forwarded to a yet-to-be-named cricket advisory panel, which would then give its views on a final shortlist
ESPNcricinfo staff
12-Jun-2016
Ravi Shastri was first appointed Team Director during the England tour in July 2014 • Associated Press
The BCCI has received 57 applicants for the position of head coach of the Indian team. Ravi Shastri, the former team director, Sandeep Patil and Vikram Rathour, members of the current selection committee, Pravin Amre, Venkatesh Prasad, Balwinder Singh Sandhu, Surendra Bhave and Hrishikesh Kanitkar are among those interested in the assignment.
It is understood that Sanjay Bangar, appointed interim coach for the ongoing Zimbabwe tour, B Arun and R Sridhar, who were members of the support staff under Shastri and whose contracts ended after the World T20, have not applied for the position, and are waiting for the board to advertise for recruitment of specialist coaches.
The BCCI did not divulge the names of the applicants in their press release on Sunday.
Media reports had suggested Jason Gillespie, the former Australia fast bowler and Yorkshire's coach in the English county cricket, was one of the high-profile overseas names to have applied. But he confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that he had not.
Meanwhile, another former Australian cricketer, Stuart Law, who had been Bangladesh's coach from July 2011 to June 2012, has reportedly expressed interest in being India coach.
This initial list of 57 applicants will be trimmed by BCCI secretary Ajay Shirke and then forwarded to a yet-to-be-named cricket advisory panel. A final decision is expected in time for India's four-Test tour of West Indies in July.
"The primary scrutiny of the applications received is now being carried out by the Office of the Honorary Secretary of the BCCI, with regards to the applicants, meeting the set eligibility criteria," the board said. "After this initial scrutiny, the list of candidates who meet the criteria will be processed for further consideration."
MS Dhoni, India's limited-overs captain, said last week that the incoming coach needs to understand the players' culture and background to establish a rapport with the group. "More than Hindi, English, one who understands our culture and our upbringing, the one who understands these sort of things, he will always be better with us," he had said. "In the past, too, these things have been important, and the coaches who have understood us better, it has made a difference at the ground level."