BCCI gets a few applications for Kumble’s job

New Delhi : The Indian cricket board (BCCI) received a few applications late on Wednesday evening for the post of India’s head coach. Though the BCCI office-bearers remained tight lipped about the identity of the applicants, it has been learnt that Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid and Ravi Shastri – their names were doing the rounds as potential candidates – haven’t applied for the job.
The applications, which have been marked to BCCI joint secretary Amitabh Chaudhary and CEO Rahul Johri, haven’t been opened yet since they were received late in the evening. While Chaudhary has already flown out to London, Johri would be leaving tomorrow. The applications will be first scrutinised by Chaudhary and Johri, and then the names of suitable candidates will be forwarded to the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC). CAC will conduct interviews on June 5 and 6 in London. For the record, it was CAC that made Kumble apply for the job last year.
It would be interesting to see if Kumble wants to carry on if there’s indeed a rift between him and Virat Kohli. According to a BCCI insider, Tom Moody could be one of the applicants. In case Kumble opts out, Moody could become one of the front-runners for the job. Moody, the head coach of Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL, had applied for the job twice in the past without success. On the first occasion, Ravi Shastri was preferred to him; and on the second, Kumble beat him in the race for the top job. According to reports, Kohli and some senior members are unhappy with Kumble’s style of functioning and the skipper made this clear to the Committee of Administrators (COA) before flying out to London for the Champions Trophy. The reports said that Kohli cited a few instances where Kumble either interfered in matters pertaining to team selection by overruling the skipper’s decisions or pushed the players too hard during practice sessions.