Reports | Six candidates, including Ravi Shastri, in contention for India head coach job

The three-member Cricket Advisory Committee was formed last month with the sole responsibility of handling a complete overhaul of the coaching and backroom staff for the Indian men’s national team. The six candidates short-listed by the committee are former New Zealand coach Mike Hesson, ex-Australia all-rounder and Sri Lanka coach Tom Moody, former West Indies all-rounder and Afghanistan coach Phil Simmons, ex-India team manager Lalchand Rajput, former India fielding coach Robin Singh and current coach, Shastri.

"These six will give presentation for head coach before CAC. It has been learnt that these six have been short-listed for interview with the CAC," a senior BCCI official told PTI.

The panel will arrive at a final decision by the end of this week or early next week. Besides Kapil, the CAC panel comprises Anshuman Gaekwad and former women's team captain Shantha Rangaswamy. This is the same panel that picked the coach for the Indian women’s national team in 2018.

The Men in Blue, represented by captain Virat Kohli, have remained in favour of Shastri continuing the role despite the criticism he has come under. Under Shastri, India have reached at least the semi-final stages of all the ICC events they’ve participated in. However, one might pull the same fact to state that the team has developed the tag of ‘chokers’ also under the same man.

Among the other candidates, Simmons has had successful periods with Ireland and Afghanistan cricket. Robin served as fielding coach of the Indian team that won the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup. Rajput, who was the head coach at the time, later had stints with Afghanistan and Zimbabwe. 

The two more notable names – Hesson and Moody – have been doing the rounds for a while. Hesson, the former New Zealand coach recently parted ways with the IPL franchise Kings XI Punjab midway through his contract.