“We feel there is no hurry at the moment”
Image courtesy of: Zimbio
The Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) has been given more time to select the individual they feel is the right candidate to take charge of the India head coach job.
This means that India will be without a head coach for their upcoming tour of Sri Lanka, which starts on July 26 in Galle.
With the CAC, which consists of Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman, also wanting to talk to India captain Virat Kohli, the decision to choose Anil Kumble’s successor has been deferred.
As of now, Lalchand Rajput, Richard Pybus, Tom Moody, Virender Sehwag and Ravi Shastri have all been interviewed. Phil Simmons, on the other hand, wasn’t available for the interview process.
While the CAC has spoken to a host of candidates, Ganguly made it clear that the panel doesn’t want to rush such an important decision.
“We feel there is no hurry at the moment,” Ganguly said in Mumbai. “Sri Lanka tour is in a week’s time, the board headed by [secretary] Amitabh Choudhary and [CEO] Rahul Johri will probably continue with the same set for the time being.
“We want to speak to Virat Kohli once he is back from America, all three of us along with the respective people concerned. We will explain to him that the coaches want to function in a certain way and make sure that everybody is on the same page before we make the announcement, because once we make the announcement it has to be till the [2019] World Cup.
“You got to give credit to Virat that he is just completely straight about it. He has no input, he has not sent any names, but we feel as the Advisory Committee that he is the captain, which is the most important thing in cricket. He and everyone of us need to be on the same page because for us Indian cricket is more important. We are just a small bit; the main bit is the players who are going to play with the coach.”
India have not had a head coach since the conclusion of the Champions Trophy last month. Kumble’s tenure came to an end after the tournament and he was offered an extension for India’s recently concluded tour of the West Indies, but in a move that few saw coming, he resigned from the role, citing a difficult relationship with Kohli as the reason why he stepped down.