Phil Simmons drops out for India’s head coach selection process

After the conclusion of the ongoing tour of the West Indies, Team India is set to undergo a number of changes. The head coach and the support staff will witness a revamp even as Ravi Shastri and his troops are on a 45-day extension period. In the meantime, it has been learned that former cricketer Phil Simmons has dropped out from the interview for the head coach role.

The same is understood to be due to personal reasons. Simmons was one of the six shortlisted candidates for the position along with Shastri, Tom Moody, Lalchand Rajput, Robin Singh and Mike Hesson. Simmons’ exit means that only five candidates are left for the process, which was scheduled to be conducted by the Kapil Dev-led Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC).

Five candidates left for CAC to work with

Simmons, who guided the Windies to the 2016 World T20 triumph in India, was supposed to appear for the interview via a teleconference as per reports in Times Now. Shastri, who’s in the Caribbean Islands with the Indian team, will be the last one to be interviewed due to the time zones and the process would be carried out on Skype. MSK Prasad will be interviewing the support staff.

Earlier, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had received as many as 2000 applications for the position of India’s head coach. Hesson, under whose tutelage New Zealand made the World Cup finals in 2015, former Indian all-rounder Robin Singh, and Lalchand Rajput, who was previously the team manager of the Indian team, have already appeared for the interview in person.

Shastri and his support staff’s tenure came to an end after India’s campaign in the 2019 World Cup in England and Wales. The Men in Blue’s journey ended after the 18-run defeat in the semi-final at the Old Trafford following which Shastri, Kohli and the rest of the support staff came under fire.

As far as the interview process is considered, Vinod Rai, the chief of the Committee of Administrators (CoA) mentioned that Virat Kohli’s opinions won’t be considered in the process. However, in a recent press conference, the Indian skipper showed his fondness for Shastri, who was appointed back in 2017 after Anil Kumble had resigned from his position.

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