Australian Tom Moody and former New Zealand coach Mike Hesson – both coaches with IPL experience – are the big international names in the list of about 2000 applications the Board of Control for Cricket in India has received for coaching positions for the India cricket team.
However, Mahela Jayawardene – who guided Mumbai Indians to the IPL trophy this season –who has not sent in his application, squashing rumours of his interest in the role, according to a report by Mumbai Mirror.
Indians Lalchand Rajput and Robin Singh have also thrown in their hat in the ring while the incumbent Ravi Shastri gets an automatic entry in the selection process.
The BCCI had invited applications for positions of head coach, batting coach, bowling coach and fielding coach and had set July 30 as the deadline. The application deadline ended on Tuesday and the next India head coach will be picked based only on the collective opinion of the three-member Cricket Advisory Committee made up of Kapil Dev, Shantha Rangaswamy and Anshuman Gaekwad.
However, the Indian board may need some time to shortlist the names on the final list given the number of applicants. Many international applications were sent by agents of the applicant, the report further added.
While Shastri has already got a 45-day extension along with other members of the support staff till India’s upcoming tour of the West Indies, he has been publicly backed by captain Virat Kohli to continue his stint.
Even CAC member Gaekwad had said that Shastri was likely to get a fresh contract. The former India player was picked as coach after Anil Kumble had resigned in 2017.
Moody and Hesson appear to be the stiffest competition for Shastri at the moment. Both have international experience and have worked in India as well