Anil Kumble confirmed all reports of a rift between him and Indian captain Virat Kohli on social media on Tuesday.
Kumble, who was offered an extension to his one-year contract by the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), decided to walk away from the Indian dressing room, saying that the partnership between him and Kohli was untenable.
As the former India Test captain decides to move on, here’s a look at the candidates for India’s head coach.
Virender Sehwag, Lalchand Rajput (former India A coach), Dodda Ganesh (former fast bowler), Richard Pybus (England) and Tom Moody (former Australia player) have applied for the post.
1. Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag is the front-runner to be the head coach if the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) is looking for an Indian great to take over Kumble’s reigns.
The former opening batsman, who scored over 8,000 runs in Tests and ODIs, has not formally coached any team.
He worked as mentor for Kings XI Punjab in the last two IPL seasons. The team finished last and fifth in IPL 2016 and 2017 respectively.
According to Indian Express, Sehwag was asked to consider applying for the job.
We contacted Sehwag during the IPL and asked him to consider applying for the job of India’s coach. But he won’t be the only one applying because we expect other former players to also throw their hats in the ring.A BCCI Official told Indian Express
2. Tom Moody
Former Australia player Tom Moody is the most qualified coach among the applicants for the coach’s job at the moment.
The 51-year-old coached the Sri Lankan team from May 2005 to May 2007. He helped the Islanders reach the World Cup final in 2007.
The Australian also has a fair idea about the talent in India because he has been working as the coach of the IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad since 2012.
3. Lalchand Rajput
Lalchand Rajput, who is the present head coach of the Afghanistan team, had a successful stint as the manager of the Indian team in 2007-08. He was part of the Indian set-up when the men in blue won the inaugural World T20 in 2007 and the Commonwealth Bank Series in Australia in 2008.
Rajput, who was appointed as the coach of the Afghanistan team in June 2016, has recently helped the team beat West Indies. Afghanistan defeated the Caribbean's by 63 runs in the first ODI in St Lucia, earlier this month.
4. Richard Pybus
England’s Richard Pybus, who has played only one List A match in his career, has tremendous experience of coaching in cricket.
After giving up his dream of being a professional cricketer due to injuries, Pybus picked up coaching jobs in his 20s.
He has had two stints as the coach of Pakistan’s team. He was influential in Pakistan’s run to the 1999 World Cup final, but Pybus did not have a great time, when he coached Pakistan’s team in the 2000s.
After enjoying success with the Titans and Cape Cobras in South Africa’s MTN Domestic Championship, Pybus served out a five-month term as Bangladesh coach in 2012.
5. Dodda Ganesh
Dodda Ganesh, who played four Tests and one ODI, has no coaching experience in international cricket.
The former Karnataka fast bowler worked with the Goa team from 2012 as a coach and has also worked with National Cricket Academy U-16 and U-19 teams.
He is presently coaching the U-16 NCA side in Nagaland.
6. Ravi Shastri
Since, Anil Kumble left the head coach job due to differences with the captain Virat Kohli, the CAC may look at bringing Ravi Shastri back into the dressing room. If nothing else, he and Kohli had a great rapport during the 18 months (August 2014 - March 2016) in which Shastri was the Indian team director.
The former India all-rounder has not applied for the job, but according to News 18, if the CAC feels that Shastri is the right man for the job then they can include him in the selection process by making a special request to the BCCI.
According to News 18, Virat Kohli had asked two members of the CAC – Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman – to include Shastri in the selection process before he and his team left for the Champions Trophy in May.
Under Shastri, India reached great heights. They beat England 3-1 in the ODI series played away from home, reached the semi-final of the 2015 World Cup, and clinched a Test series against Sri Lanka in 2015, after 22 years.
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