This Time, Virat Won’t Have a Say in Selection of Coach: Report
The CoA invited fresh applications for the Indian cricket team’s support staff on 16 July.
With the Committee of Administrators (CoA) inviting application for the Indian cricket team’s support staff, it has been reported that this time around, captain Virat Kohli will not have a say in the selection of head coach.
The Cricket Advisory Committee comprising Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman, which had picked current coach Ravi Shastri, will also not be part of the selection process due to their conflict of interest row. Instead, a new trio headed by former India captain Kapil Dev, will instead be making the appointment.
“Last time, the captain (Kohli) had expressed his difficulty, or the team’s difficulty, with former coach Anil Kumble. In the new selection process, he will have absolutely no say with regards to who becomes the coach. This time, we have Kapil Dev in the coach selection committee, and he will not listen to him (Kohli),” a senior BCCI official said, as per a report in The Indian Express.
After former India cricketer Anil Kumble had stepped down from his role as head coach in 2017 citing an “untenable” relationship with Kohli, Shastri had been appointed for the role until the 2019 Cricket World Cup. Post India’s recent semi-finals exit from the quadrennial tournament, the coaching staff had been given a 45-day extension on an ad-hoc basis. On 16 July, the CoA invited applications for the men's team support staff.
As per the invitation for the posts, the appointment of the coaching staff shall be from 5 September to 24 November 2021, while the appointment of the administrative manager shall be for a one-year period. Shastri along with the other support staff members currently holding positions in the Indian squad including assistant coach Sanjay Bangar, bowling coach Bharat Arun and fielding coach R Sridhar will be automatic entrants into the process. However, they will have to re-apply for the same.
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