Tom Moody, a former Australia all-rounder, is expected to apply for the high-profile job of the Indian cricket team’s next head coach for a fourth time after Ravi Shastri’s exit following the conclusion of the upcoming T20 World Cup 2021, according to a media report.
The 56-year-old Tom Moody, who currently serves as IPL side Sunrisers Hyderabad and Sri Lanka’s director of cricket, has expressed his desire to coach the Indian side before, applying thrice for the top job in the past, including in 2017 and 2019, but has never been considered for the top post.
Tom Moody To Apply For India Team’s Head Coach After Ravi Shastri’s Contract Ends After Conclusion Of T20I World Cup
Ravi Shastri’s contract as India’s head coach is all set to end after the conclusion of the 2021 T20 World Cup, and the 59-year-old former Indian batsman has already confirmed that he won’t be seeking an extension, leaving the BCCI to look for candidates for the top job. Tom Moody, who was Sunrisers Hyderabad’s coach for seven years from 2013 to 2019, led the franchise to their only IPL title in 2016 with compatriot David Warner as skipper.
“It’s understood the former World Cup-winner and well-traveled coach is eyeing the Indian coaching job, which is set to be vacated by (Ravi) Shastri following the impending T20 World Cup,” Foxsports.com.au reported.
Tom Moody was replaced by former England World Cup-winning coach Trevor Bayliss at SRH camp before being named the franchise’s director of cricket. Tom Moody has also coached Sri Lanka.
On 15th December 2020, Tom Moody was appointed as the Director of Cricket of Sunrisers Hyderabad ahead of the 2021 IPL season. In February 2021, he was appointed as the director of cricket of Sri Lanka cricket with the influence of the Technical Advisory Committee of Sri Lanka Cricket led by Aravinda de Silva.
Several Franchises have approached David Warner, Who Was Stripped Of Captaincy And Axed From Playing XI
According to the report, Tom Moody’s aspiration to coach Team India led to the decision to strip David Warner from captaincy earlier this season and then dropped him from the playing XI in the last few games.
“It’s believed the Sunrisers’ owners are influential figures in the BCCI, which could explain the decision to leave Warner out for their past half-a-dozen matches and turn to youth. Warner, too, has been approached by a number of other IPL franchises, who have been shocked by the run-scoring machine being sidelined,” the report stated.
When asked about David Warner, head coach Trevor Bayliss had said the left-handed opener was dropped from the playing squad to give youngsters in the side a chance.
“We can’t make the final so have made a decision that we want the young players to experience not just the matches but time at the ground, around the set-up, and for this match, we made the decision,” Bayliss had said.
With the bat, David Warner had a rare bad IPL campaign in 2021 as he scored just 195 runs in eight games at a below-par average of 24.47. Since joining SRH in 2014, David Warner has crossed the 500 run-mark every season before the current campaign and arguably been the most consistent player in the league.
David Warner has been SRH’s star opening batsman for a number of years, having carried the weight of a fragile middle order single-handedly. He was the Orange Cap winner 3 times in 2015, 2017, and 2019, having amassed 4014 runs in 95 games for the franchise at a whopping average of 49.56 and striking at 142.59. He is still the IPL’s 5th highest scorer, having amassed 5449 runs in 150 games averaging 41.59 with 4 tons and 50 fifties. He has hit the maximum number of the fifties in IPL history.