The Story:
The Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) is reportedly unhappy with the BCCI’s decision to invite fresh applications for the post of Team India head coach.
As per reports in The Indian Express, the CoA was not aware of the developments and questioned BCCI CEO Rahul Johri during a meeting last week in Mumbai. The CoA, comprising Vinod Rai, Vikram Limaye and Diana Edulji asked Johri about the need to advertise for the post again and also why the panel was kept in dark for the same.
BCCI’s Justification Does Not Impress CoA:
The news outlet further claimed that Johri tried to justify the need of advertising again by stating that the thought that a number of eligible candidates may not have applied since Anil Kumble himself had re-applied for the post when the BCCI opened the process on May 25th had convinced the board to take the step.
However, Johri’s explanation did not go down well with the CoA. In fact, the three-member panel even doubted that the board has extended the deadline on captain Virat Kohli’s behest.
“Not everybody was convinced by Johri’s explanation and Phase Two of the coach selection process was seen as unnecessary. He was even asked if new applications were invited at captain Virat Kohli’s behest,” a source was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.
Earlier this month, media reports had claimed that Kohli, prior to leaving for England for the ICC Champions Trophy, had met with Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman, two of the three members of Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), to consider former team directed Ravi Shastri for the coaching role.
(READ: Cricket Advisory Committee To Not Consult Virat Kohli While Appointing New Coach)
CAC To Select New Coach Before The Sri Lanka Series:
The CAC, comprising Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman, is likely to select the new coach for Team India before the Sri Lanka series which commences next month. Virat Kohli & Co. are currently in the Caribbeans for the ongoing limited-overs series without a head coach with BCCI deputing its general manager M.V. Sridhar to supervise the team management.
The process of selecting the new coach will be similar to last year, as after the BCCI forwards the final shortlist to the three-member committee, it will conduct interviews and seek presentations before sending their final choice to the board.
The new applicants will join Virender Sehwag, Dodda Ganesh, Tom Moody, Richard Pybus and Lalchand Rajput who had applied for the post last month.