What’s the Story?
Former Indian batsman Virender Sehwag has been asked to apply for the position of the coach of the Indian cricket team as per a report in the Indian Express. Apparently, Sehwag was approached by a top BCCI official during the Indian Premier League who asked him to apply for the job.
“We have contacted Sehwag during the IPL and asked him to consider applying for the job of India coach. But he won’t be the only one applying because we expect other former players to also thrown their hats in the ring,” a top BCCI official said.
Also Read: Bishan Singh Bedi blasts BCCI over new coach selection, terms the move 'ridiculous'
The board wants to go through the process of selection of coach again. Also, the next contract is likely to run until the 2019 World Cup, so even the length of the contract has to be taken into consideration before appointing the coach. We don’t want a scenario where the players and the coach are not on the same page,” said a BCCI insider.
However, Sehwag himself denied the reports and revealed that he has not been approached for the job so far.
In case you didn’t know...
Anil Kumble, who is the coach of the team at present has been at loggerheads with the BCCI and the Supreme Court appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) with regards to the increase of pay for the players and support staff.
Kumble and Kohli were reportedly unhappy with the payment the players and coaches received and wanted a substantial increase in the same. Due to the rising issues between coach and cricketing body, the latter decided to open up applications for the post of the coach of the national side.
The Details:
Sehwag does not really have any coaching experience under him apart from being the mentor of the Kings XI Punjab side in the IPL this year. If he does apply for the role of the coach of the Indian team, he will have to go through a rigorous selection process.
He will have to appear before the high-profile cricket committee — consisting of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman too.
The entire process of selecting the coach will be overlooked by the Rahul Johri, who is the CEO of the BCCI.
What’s next?
Anil Kumble’s contract as India coach expires on June 30 post the conclusion of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 after which the next coach will be decided.
Author’s Take
The BCCI has come under the scanner for their decision to look for a new coach with former cricketers expressing their anger and disbelief over the matter. The entire situation has been handled extremely poorly and is being done at the wrong time with India getting ready to defend their Champions Trophy title.
Kumble has taken India to great heights during his tenure as coach and his credibility should not be questioned by the BCCI. As of now, we can only hope that all goes well and Kumble is retained as the coach of the side.
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