Gary Kirsten Joins The Race To Become Indian Women's Cricket Head Coach: Reports

Gary Kirsten, who was the Indian men's cricket team's head coach when they lifted the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup, has applied for the similar position vacant with the Indian women's team, according to reports. The 51-year-old South African was Team India's head coach for three years from 2008 to 2011. Kirsten then coached South Africa from 2011 to 2013. He is currently the head coach of Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). Former New Zealand coach Mike Hesson is also interested in the job but it is not yet clear whether he has applied or not, the Times of India reported.

Former interim coach Ramesh Powar, whose contract ended on November 30, has also reapplied for the job. Former cricketers Manoj Prabhakar, Herschelle Gibbs and Dmitri Mascarenhas have also reportedly applied for the position so far.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday announced the formation of an ad-hoc committee to conduct the interviews of shortlisted candidates.

The panel consists of Kapil Dev, Anshuman Gaekwad and Shantha Rangaswamy. The interviews will be conducted on December 20 at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai.

The BCCI has been looking for a new head coach for the women's team after Powar's brief stint as interim coach ended last month under controversial circumstances.

India veteran Mithali Raj accused Powar of humiliating and ignoring her before dropping her for the ICC Women's World T20 semi-final against England.

While India's T20I skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and vice-captain Smriti Mandhana, along with the BCCI's Committee of Administrators (CoA) member Diana Edulji, have called for Powar to be given an extension, CoA chief Vinod Rai ruled it out.

Topics mentioned in this article

India Women Gary Kirsten Cricket Mithali Raj Ramesh Powar