MUMBAI: The process to appoint the Indian team’s new head coach; specialist batting, bowling and fielding coaches; and a new head for sports science and medicine at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) got underway on Sunday with the BCCI releasing a statement that it was inviting applications for the above-mentioned positions.
The cricket board has given timelines for applications.
“Applications for the position of head coach (Team India -Senior Men) should be submitted by 5 PM on October 26, applications for the position of batting coach (Team India -Senior Men) should be submitted by 5 PM on November 03, 2021 and applications for the position of bowling coach (Team India -Senior Men) should be submitted by 5 PM on November 03, 2021.”

All coaches will be given a two-year contract while the head for sports science and medicine has a pre-set retirement age.
One eligibility criterion for all candidates who apply for any coaching role is: ‘Should be below 60 years of age at the time of appointment’.
Present head coach Ravi Shastri will turn 60 in May 2022. Bowling coach Bharat Arun will turn 59 in December. Batting coach Vikram Rathour is 52 going on 53. Fielding coach R Sridhar is 51.
While all these individuals are eligible to apply, none other than Rathour will send their applications for any of the coaching positions. Shastri, who’s finished four separate stints with the Indian team over the last 15 years – twice as head coach; Arun, who has clearly been India’s best bowling coach ever; and Sridhar will walk away.

Rathour, who came on board as batting coach in August 2019, can be expected to apply. The former opener, who has done a commendable job with Team India’s lower-order batting, could possibly apply for the role of the head coach as well as batting coach. He’s spent two years with the team already and knows the players at a personal level.
Meanwhile, Shastri wants to ‘slow down’ in life, given that he’s been working – first as a cricketer, then commentator and later as coach – for 42 years of his life now.

“He’ll be selective. He’ll be open to working with an IPL franchise. Year-round travel is something he would like to avoid now,” say those who have his ear.
Should the former India cricketer want to come back to commentary, industry executives say: “he’ll be welcomed with a red carpet. Tell me a voice that is more identifiable than his”.

Under Shastri, India reached the semifinal of the 2016 T20 World Cup in India before losing to eventual champions West Indies at the Wankhede in Mumbai. They were favourites to clinch the 2019 World Cup in the UK, but went down to New Zealand at Manchester. They also reached the final of the World Test Championship.
Likewise, Arun too intends to head to the IPL and given his profile and success as Team India bowling coach, he’ll have his share of takers. Sridhar too wants to move on.
The BCCI, it is clear, will have to put a completely new team in place.
However, the Board hasn’t appointed the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) yet that will interview and select this new coaching team. Former World Cup-winning bowler Madan Lal had to quit the CAC after he turned 70 in March this year.

While RP Singh and Sulakshana Naik are eligible to continue, sources say the BCCI could possibly appoint a completely new CAC to interview the coaches.
On Saturday, the cricket fraternity was rife with talks of Rahul Dravid finally agreeing to say yes to the BCCI’s multiple requests to come on board as the head coach. However, if Dravid does decide to now put his foot forward for the role, he will have to submit his application to the BCCI and will be interviewed.
All national coaches, including Anil Kumble, Ravi Shastri for the men’s team and WV Raman and Ramesh Powar for the women’s team, have gone through interview processes in the past.