The race for the post of the Indian cricket team may be over with the Cricket Advisory Committee handing the incumbent Ravi Shastri a contract extension till the end of the 2021 Twenty20 World Cup but Sourav Ganguly has revealed that he would like to take over as coach someday in the future.
While the former India captain backed the reappointment of Shastri by the Kapil Dev-led CAC earlier on Friday, Ganguly said he was excited to work with Virat Kohli as coach.
“Two years is some time away. But I have said in the past as well, I am interested in being India coach someday. It will feel great to work with Virat Kohli because he is a match-winner. He is a champion cricketer,” Ganguly was quoted as saying by India Today.
Under his leadership, Ganguly helped India script many famous victories not only at home but also overseas. He stated he would like to help Virat Kohli and Co achieve the same.
“If I can contribute and help the team win big tournaments and Test series in England, South Africa and the current Australian side with Steve Smith and David Warner that would be the endeavour. If the team can achieve that, it will be the USP of this side,” Ganguly added.
The Indian selection committee under MSK Prasad has come under a lot of criticism lately, following India’s semi-final exit at the 2019 World Cup where many fingers have been raised on the credentials of the selectors. Virender Sehwag was of the view that Anil Kumble was best suited for the role. Responding to it, Ganguly said he would like to see both Sehwag and Kumble involved in the role.
“If Anil Kumble becomes a selector, what else could be better than that? He brings honesty, experience and has been such a huge cricketer for India. Even Sehwag would make a good selector. He has courage and vision. He played his cricket in a way which contributed to wins. His analysis and reaction in big matches was second to none. So he will definitely do a good job. Both Anil Kumble and Virender Sehwag can be selectors for India,” Ganguly said.
While Shastri was reappointed as coach, the MSK Prasad-led selection panel retained Bharat Arun and R Sridhar as the batting and bowling coach respectively. They also appointed Vikram Rathour as the new batting coach, replacing Sanjay Bangar.