BCCI looking to appoint a professional manager soon

India may be 2-1 up in an ODI series in the Carribean and the runners up of the Champions Trophy, but fans have still been left dissatisfied with the recent lapses on the field that have resulted in Team India losing matches from a strong position or totally capitulating, like in the 180-run loss in the final against Pakistan. Even off the field, sagas continue over the appointment of the head coach, and now the BCCI is looking into a professional manager for the team as well.

The allegations of a rift between captain and coach had proven to be true as Anil Kumble resigned from his post even as he had reapplied for it and had his contract extended for the tour of West Indies. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) also reopened the application process which had garnered interest from Ravi Shastri, Virender Sehwag, Tom Moody and Lalchand Rajput, and have set the deadline as 9th July with Kumble’s successor to be decided on the 10th.

CoA not happy

Simultaneously, it is understood that the Committee of Administrators (CoA) is not happy with the practice of existing BCCI officials touring and giving reports which have little meaning, and therefore, the BCCI will be looking into this problem by advertising for a professional manager for the Indian team. The advertisement is expected to be circulated in a week’s time. This is BCCI’s attempt to bring efficiency so that the managers’ work can be taken seriously.

Reportedly, the previous team manager failed to include in his latest report even a mention of the rift between Kohli and Kumble, let alone give details on it. The true extent of the problem was only made clear in Kumble’s lucid and honest account that covered everything, that most officials had been unaware of, which was released after his resignation.

The roles and responsibilities of the new administrative manager will be on the lines of the Australian setup for the post and the manager will have a 2-year tenure, to begin with, with options for a contract extension.