Kolkata: The hunt is on for the new India coach with incumbent Ravi Shastri’s tenure coming to an end with the conclusion of the tour of the West Indies.
Former captain Sourav Ganguly said he’s definitely interested in the India coach’s job but not at the moment as his plate is full.
Definitely, I’m interested but not at this point of time. Let one more phase go then I will throw my name into the fray, Ganguly said.
The 47-year-old is currently the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) president, besides being associated with IPL franchise Delhi Capitals as team advisor. He also does cricket commentary and is host for a popular Bengali quiz show.
Currently, I’m associated with too many things — IPL, CAB, TV commentary. Let me complete this. But I will definitely put my hat in the ring at some stage. Provided I get selected. But definitely I’m interested. Not now but in the future, Ganguly said here after unveiling a new range of men’s collections by Senco Gold & Diamonds.
One of the most successful Indian cricket captains, Ganguly was the chairman of the previous Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), which picked Shastri as the India coach last time.
The recently-appointed CAC, led by Kapil Dev, with Anshuman Gaekwad and Shanta Rangaswamy as other members, is all set to pick the new coach.
But it seems that Shastri, who has re-applied for the post, would get another term with the India captain Virat Kohli openly endorsing his candidature.
Kapil Dev also said the skipper’s opinion needs to be respected. Ganguly said there were not many big names in the fray this time around.
“Going by the applicants, I don’t see any heavyweight names. I heard Mahela (Jayawardene) would apply but ultimately he didn’t. There are not many big names who have applied for the coach’s job. Ultimately, I don’t know what the panel will decide. They have been around for a while. We will see how long a term the coach will get. Not many have applied.”
The former left-hander however refused to comment on Shastri’s tenure. ‘I will hold my opinion on that. I don’t think it’s right for me to say about that. I’m too far from the system that decides the coach,’ Ganguly said.
After the ODI World Cup, where India lost in the semi-finals, they will be back on the road with a full series in the West Indies, beginning with the first T20I in Florida today.
Ganguly, meanwhile, said India’s upcoming series would be tough against the reigning world T20 champions, who also defeated England 2-1 earlier this year at home.