With Kohli’s backing, former coach seeks to fill Kumble’s boots

New delhi : Finally, the suspense over whether Ravi Shastri would apply for the Indian cricket team’s head coach’s position has been lifted. Shastri, the former team director, has thrown his hat in the ring, four days after BCCI announced July 9 as the new deadline for applications for the post.
With captain Virat Kohli privately endorsing Shastri’s name during his meetings with the BCCI office-bearers and Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) members in London, Shastri has emerged as the clear favourite to land the job. Virender Sehwag, Tom Moody, Richard Pybus, Lalchand Rajput and Dodda Ganesh are the other candidates in the fray. “Yes, I have decided to apply for the job,” Shastri said today. A BCCI office-bearer confirmed to The Tribune that Shastri would apply soon. When BCCI first advertised for the coaching position, Shastri did not apply until the May 31 deadline, considering Anil Kumble was still in contention. But with Kumble tendering his resignation as head coach due to his “untenable” relationship with Kohli, Shastri has decided to explore the possibility of a second stint with the team.
Shastri assured?
It has been learnt that Shastri contacted BCCI acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary and CEO Rahul Johri this morning for final discussions before agreeing to apply. “It was told to him that his application would be considered favourably since he has the backing of Kohli,” a BCCI source said.
Another source revealed that after India’s match against South Africa in the Champions Trophy on June 11, BCCI acting president CK Khanna and senior office-bearer Rajeev Shukla had visited Shastri in the commentary box and discussed the coaching issue with him at length.
“Shastri had been told by the two that they don’t see Kumble continuing beyond the Champions Trophy, or for that matter, the West Indies tour,” the source added. “He had even been told that BCCI may consider opening the application process again so that he (Shastri) could apply. Shastri had, at that time, told the two that he would wait for Kumble to resign. Now that has happened and the coaching window is also open, Shastri’s entering the fray shouldn’t surprise anyone.”
Spat with Ganguly
While Shastri may have got BCCI’s backing, he would still have to appear for an interview before CAC. CAC includes Sourav Ganguly, with whom Shastri had a public spat last year, when Shastri’s application for a job extension was rejected by CAC and Kumble was offered the job. Shastri had then alleged that Ganguly wasn’t present at the time of the video interview conducted over the internet. Ganguly had hit back by saying that had Shastri been really keen about the job, he would have appeared in person for the interview and not through video-conferencing while holidaying in Bangkok.
Kohli, the boss
Many in BCCI see today’s development as a reaffirmation of Kohli’s growing stature. It’s no secret that when Kumble was picked over Shastri as head coach, Kohli wasn’t entirely happy with the decision. “First Kohli got Kumble out with the help of BCCI office-bearers, despite CAC recommending Kumble’s name for another extension,” a BCCI office-bearer said. “And now Shastri is going to apply. Don’t be surprised if Ganguly sets his differences with Shastri aside, with Kohli ruling the roost.”