Former India opener and popularly known as the “Nawab of Najafgarh”, Virender Sehwag took a sly dig at Team India head coach Ravi Shastri stating that he wasn’t selected for the position of head coach due to no connections with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
When asked during a recent TV show on India Today that what was the reason behind Shastri getting selected ahead of him Sehwag said, “See, I didn’t have any setting.”
We all know that Sehwag never shies away from speaking his heart out and this time it was no different. He further went on to add he wouldn’t have applied for the position of the head coach had he knew that Shastri would be applying too.
“When I was in England during the Champions Trophy, I had asked Ravi Shastri that why he hasn’t applied for the post? Shastri then told me that he will not repeat the mistake which he had already made once,” Sehwag stated.
The former India batsman who was the director of Kings XI Punjab in the IPL was among the six likely candidates for the position of the head coach. The list also included the likes of Tom Moody, Richard Pybus and Lalchand Rajput following Anil Kumble’s resignation after the Champions Trophy in England.
Sehwag further went on to reveal it wasn’t him in the first place who thought of coaching the Indian team, but it was on the request from top BCCI officials that Sehwag thought on that matter and eventually applied for the post.
“I never thought of coaching the Indian cricket team. I was given the offer… BCCI secretary Amitabh Choudhury and MV Sridhar came to me and requested me to think on offer. I took my time and then applied for the position,” Sehwag said.
Sehwag was tipped to be a prime contender for the post, but Kohli’s bonding with Shastri and his inputs played a vital role in Shastri getting selected ahead of the former opener.