After a long day of discussions and interviews on Tuesday, Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), comprising of former greats Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman is set to take its recommendations for India’s next head coach to BCCI senior officials on Wednesday.
Former Indian Test captain Anil Kumble is significantly ahead in the race that includes the likes of Ravi Shastri, Tom Moody, Stuart Law and Pravin Amre competing for the top job.
Shastri, who has had the backing of both MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli in the past, was the outright favourite until a few weeks ago when Kumble threw his hat into the ring. While Kumble does not have the prior experience of having coached an international or a domestic team, the sheer weight of his experience in international cricket seems to have tilted the scales heavily in his favour.
Sport360.com has learned that, at the time of pruning the initial list of 57 applicants for the coaching job, the BCCI had in fact omitted Kumble’s name from the 20 put forward to the next stage of the process.
However, with the help of the CAC, the former leg-spinner was brought back into the fray.
Tom Moody - The dark horse
- The Australian continues to be the dark horse in this race
- In the scenario that BCCI doesn't go for an Indian coach, Moody is the likely choice
- Moody won IPL 9 as the coach of Sunrisers Hyderabad
According to leading Indian media outlet, the India Today Group, the candidates were asked to present a road-map on how to improve India’s performances overseas, especially in countries such as England and Australia.
As things stand, Kumble is in pole position to take the job, bar a scenario where the BCCI overturns the decision taken by the three stalwarts of Indian cricket.
The CAC is most likely to finalise a name on Wednesday after consulting Test captain Kohli – with a possible announcement expected on Friday after the conclusion of the board’s working committee meeting.
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