Craig McDermott joins race for Indian team coach
Former Australian fast bowler Craig McDermott, who picked 494 wickets for his country, has submitted his candidature for the post of India's head coach. The 52-year-old is now the second Australian to apply for the post after Tom Moody had earlier submitted his name for the same.
India’s current coach Anil Kumble's contract expires on June 20 and he is not expected to continue in the role after the alleged rift with Indian skipper Virat Kohli, albeit the latter denied any such situation in the press conference yesterday.
McDermott is not new to the role though, having earlier served as the bowling coach of the Australian team 2013 to 2016 and was instrumental in developing Australia’s current rich pace attack. During his tenure, Australia tasted quite a lot of success on the field, including the 5-0 Ashes whitewash of 2013-14 and World Cup triumph in 2015. McDermott will now have to compete with former Indian opener Virender Sehwag, Tom Moody, Richard Pybus, Lalchand Rajput, and Dodda Ganesh, among others for the role.
After submitting his application, McDermott said that it was his long-time aspiration to coach an international team. Speaking to Sportstar, he said, “Yes, I have thrown my hat in the ring for India’s head coaching job.
“I completed all the procedures on time, and the application was sent much earlier. I have had aspirations for a while to be a head coach. I was away from cricket coaching for a year, and now I want to come back to it. I have also enjoyed my time in India, and it would be nice to serve Indian cricket.”
After the news of Kumble-Kohli rift surfaced, it created a stir among the coaches and evidently, only six people have applied for the post as compared to the 57 applicants from last year. However, the Aussie is undaunted by that or any type of pressure comes to an Indian team coach.
"I have handled many situations before. And I believe, as a head coach, your job is no longer restricted to just cricket," he said. "Being a head coach is about managing the people and maintaining a good relation with the players and the captain."