What’s the story?
Virender Sehwag, Anil Kumble and Tom Moody were among the six applicants for the role of India coach. Former India coach Lalchand Rajput, Richard Pybus and Doddanarasiah “Dodda” Ganesh were the other candidates to put their names forward for the role, according to reports.
Rahul Dravid, who was rumored to be in the running for the role is surprisingly absent from the list of people who have applied. Another surprise, considering the recent turn of events is that Anil Kumble has applied for the post that he currently holds.
Extra Cover: Reports: Kuldeep Yadav non-selection in Ranchi Test alleged reason for Anil Kumble-Virat Kohli spat
In case you didn’t know…
India enjoyed a hugely successful home season in which they whitewashed New Zealand 3-0 in Tests and beat them 3-2 in ODIs, beat England 4-0, beat Bangladesh in the solitary Test and came from behind to beat Australia 2-1 in a four-match series, BCCI announced that the search for a new coach had begun.
The heart of the matter
Despite India’s impressive form, Kumble’s demands including a 150% hike in fees and separate captaincy fees for Kohli were the among reasons provided for the reason for the search of someone to take over from the legendary Indian leg spinner. There were also reports about some Indian players feeling ‘stifled’ under the current coach whose tenure comes to an end in June.
Virender Sehwag, who was Director of Cricket of the Kings XI Punjab side in IPL 2017, Sunrisers Hyderabad coach Tom Moody and current coach of the Afghanistan side, Lalchand Rajput are in the running. As are the surprising duo of Richard Pybus and former Indian international Dodda Ganesh.
What’s next?
While the search for the new India coach rumbles along in the background, India are busy preparing for their crucial Champions Trophy 2017 opener against Pakistan on June 4.
Author’s Take
Considering the reports of a rift between the players and the current coach, one between Kohli and Kumble and leaking of team conversations on WhatsApp, it is surprising to see Kumble's name in the hat for the role of the coach. While the likes of Tom Moody and Virender Sehwag makes a lot of sense, there are a couple of surprises as well. Not much has been made of either Dodda Ganesh or former England international Richard Pybus, who has previously coached Bangladesh and Pakistan.
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