Kolkata: Virat Kohli has the right to say who he wants as the head coach, feels former India captain Sourav Ganguly. “He is the captain so, he has got the right to say,” Ganguly told reporters on the sidelines of the prize distribution ceremony for Zee Bangla Football League.
In his pre-departure press conference, India skipper Kohli had said the team would be very happy if Ravi Shastri continues as the head coach. “The CAC hasn’t contacted me yet. If they want my opinion, I’ll go and speak to them. With Ravi Bhai, we share a great camaraderie, and will definitely be very happy if he continues. But I haven’t been contacted so far,” Kohli had said in Mumbai.
The newly formed Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) co-member Anshuman Gaekwad told IANS that that they will go in with an open mind when they sit down to interview the shortlisted candidates.
The CAC — comprising India’s first World Cup winning captain and legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev, former batsman and coach Gaekwad and former women’s captain Shanta Rangaswamy — have been entrusted with the job of selecting a new head coach.
The current coaching staff were handed an extension till the tour of West Indies as their contract expired after the World Cup. India will play three Twenty20 internationals, three ODIs and two Tests in USA and the Caribbean. “We have to go with an open mind. There are interviews to be conducted. Lot of people from India and abroad have applied. We have to go there and assess things,” Gaekwad said.
Asked if the committee would keep Kohli in the loop before picking the next coach, Gaekwad said it was not mandatory. “The captain can say anything. It doesn’t bother us. We are a committee. That’s his opinion and the BCCI takes a note of it, not us.
“It all depends on BCCI. BCCI has to give us guideline and then we will go accordingly. He has already said yesterday (what he wants). When we chose the women’s coach, we did not contact anybody. We did it on our own,” Gaekwad further said.
Asked about Gaekwad’s comments, Ganguly said: “Every individual is different so I cannot comment.” Ganguly also refused to comment on India and Mumbai opener Prithvi Shaw being banned by the BCCI for a doping violation. “I am not sure what exactly is the truth. It won’t be right for me to comment,” he said.