Sourav Ganguly says new Indian coach to be selected on July 10

Former Indian captain, Sourav Ganguly has confirmed that the new Indian Head Coach will be selected on July 10th. The appointment of a new coach has been the supreme topic of debate in the cricketing world ever since former coach, Anil Kumble has stepped down from the position. Sourav Ganguly is a part of the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), that has been handed with the responsibility to appoint a new coach.

The CAC is a 3-member panel, comprising Indian cricketing greats, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman. A lot of buzz was created when Kumble had earlier resigned from his position, owing to his “untenable” working relationship with the current Indian skipper, Virat Kohli. Right now, the onus is on the CAC to find the right person to mentor the team.

Ganguly has said that the new coach for the team will be appointed after an interview of all the prospective candidates is conducted on the 10th of July. The last date of submitting applications for the job is July 9th.

“The interview will be held on July 10 in Mumbai,” Ganguly told reporters at Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) before leaving for London to attend MCC’s World Cricket committee meeting at the Lord’s on July 3 and 4.

Prospective candidates for the position

The candidates who have applied for the post so far are former India team director Ravi Shastri, former Indian batting great Virender Sehwag along with the likes of Tom Moody, Lalchand Rajput, Richard Pybus and Dodda Ganesh. Shastri is being considered as a front runner for the top job, with captain Kohli having made no secret of his inclination towards having him at the helm.

The famed leg-spinner, Anil Kumble was appointed as the head coach of the Indian team with a one-year contract subject to extension, by the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) itself, in June 2016. CAC panel members Ganguly, Tendulkar and Laxman had been entrusted with the job of recruiting the national team coach and they selected Kumble for the role.

It was considered to be an excellent selection until the reports of the alleged friction between coach and the captain came to the forefront. Kumble handed in his resignation soon after the conclusion of the ICC Champions Trophy, 2017. India is currently touring the Caribbeans, for a 5 ODIs and a single T20 match series, against the Windies.