The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has said that the decision on team India’s new head coach is yet to be taken and the announcement comes just an hour after reports were suggesting that Ravi Shastri has been named as Anil Kumble’s successor.
While the drama surrounding India’s head coach, including Anil Kumble’s resignation and a new appointment, has not come to an end, this latest goof up is another example of Breaking News approach that media has opted in the last couple of years.
BCCI’s acting secretary Amitabh Choudhury held a press conference, denying all the reports that Ravi Shastri has been appointed as the new head coach and said, “The BCCI is yet to decide on the selection of the India head coach. No decision has been made on the appointment of the new coach, the CAC is still deliberating over it.” He also added that the CAC members, Saurav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman, are very tall figures in Indian cricket and will take the best decision.
During the press conference, Choudhury also highlighted the fact that the CAC members are still finalizing their decision and as soon as they will take BCCI in the loop, the official announcement will be made.
Ravi Shastri, on the other hand, has been the frontrunner for the job after he applied on 9th June and the Cricket Advisory Committee, on Monday, conducted interviews of the applicants which included, Shastri, Virender Sehwag, Lalchand Rajput, Tom Moody and Richard Pybus.
However, yesterday, Sourav Ganguly made a statement saying, the committee will announce its decision after speaking with the current captain, Virat Kohli.
Ravi Shastri, meanwhile, is said to be the best possible option for the team as his two-year stint with the Indian squad (2014-2015) he led the Men In Blue to semi-finals of 2015 ICC World Cup as well as 2016 ICC WT20. India recorded a 3-0 win against Australia in the T20 series and a 3-0 Test Series victory over the then No.1 team, South Africa.
Whoever is appointed as India’s head coach will lead the team until the World Cup 2019 and his first assignment will be the 3-Test series, 5-Match ODI series and a one-off T20I against Sri Lanka.