Virender Sehwag: Missed out on coach job for lack of ‘setting’

The Indian coach selection, after Anil Kumble stepped down from the post, became a farcical affair, as BCCI extended the deadlines, reportedly to accommodate Ravi Shastri’s application. Virender Sehwag was one of the six applicants who were shortlisted for the interview. The other five applicants - Lalchand Rajput, Ravi Shastri, Tom Moody, and Richard Pybus were interviewed by the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) comprising of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, and VVS Laxman. Reportedly, Ganguly had reservations about the appointment and there was a tough fight between Sehwag and Shastri, but Kohli's strong recommendation for Shastri during his tenure as the director swung the result in his favour.

Now, Sehwag opened up about the decision and said that his lack of patronage in the Indian board worked against him.

“Dekhiye main coach isliyenahi ban paayakyonki jo bhi coach chunrahe the unsemera koi setting nahintha. (Look I couldn’t become the (India) coach because I didn’t have any setting (common slang for hobnobbing with decision-makers) with those who were in power of appointing the coach),” Sehwag told hindi news channel ‘India TV’ during a chat show.

The explosive former opener also revealed that he was asked to apply for the post by BCCI acting secretary Amitabh Chaudhary and Head of the Game Development MV Sridhar.

“I never thought of coaching the Indian cricket team. I was given an offer to coach the team. The BCCI (acting) secretary Amitabh Chaudhary and GM (Game Development) MV Sridhar came to me and requested me to think about the offer. I took my time and then applied for the position,” Sehwag revealed.

To get a clearer idea of the situation, Sehwag had approached Virat Kohli, who also backed him for the job. 

“I also had a word with Virat Kohli, he asked me to go for it. It was only then that I applied. If you ask for my opinion, I would say that I was never interested. “I thought since they are requesting me, I should help them. I never thought of applying on my own nor will I ever apply in future,” Sehwag replied when asked about the backdrop of his application.

Sehwag also blamed Shastri for his dual nature and stated that the latter had initially told him that he will not apply for the post and had he known his intentions earlier, he would not have given his name.

“When I was in England during the Champions Trophy, I had asked Ravi Shastri that why he hasn’t applied for the post? Shastri then told me that he will not repeat the mistake which he had already made once.

“If Ravi had applied earlier, then I don’t think there would have been any chance of me applying for the post. I would have never applied,” Sehwag concluded.