New Delhi: Weeks after Anil Kumble stepped down as coach of the Indian cricket team, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is all set to announce the name of his successor today. While there are close to ten candidates who have sent their applications for the top job, veteran Mumbai cricketer Ravi Shastri remains to be the favourite to bag the top job.
The three-member Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) comprising Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman will meet on Monday to scrutinise candidates for the high-profile job of Indian men's cricket team coach.
For the record, BCCI received 10 CVs -- Shastri, Virender Sehwag, Tom Moody, Richard Pybus, Dodda Ganesh, Lalchand Rajput, Lance Klusener, Rakesh Sharma (Oman national team coach), Phil Simmons and Upendranath Bramhachari (engineer with no cricketing background).
According to PTI sources, the CAC will interview only six candidates which are likely to be Shastri, Virender Sehwag, Tom Moody, Phil Simmons, Richard Pybus and Lalchand Rajput.
Shastri, who has served as Indian team director from August 2014 to June 2016, shares a healthy rapport with the players including captain Virat Kohli.
He was all set to get a contract extension in July last year before Kumble threw his hat into the ring at the last moment and bowled the CAC panel with a detailed presentation during the interview process.
Irrespective of who gets the job, it will big shoes to will considering the team did well under Kumble, winning the Test series against the West Indies, Australia, England, New Zealand and Bangladesh before reaching the Champions Trophy final last month.
During Shastri's tenure, India won limited overs series series away against England in 2014, reached the semi-finals of the World Cup and World T20 (2015 and 2016 respectively), won away Test series against Sri Lanka, home series against South Africa and T20 away series against Australia.
