Ravi Shastri on Monday formally applied for the job of Indian cricket team's head coach. Shastri, the India team director from 2014-16, reportedly applied for the post after Sachin Tendulkar requested him to. According to sources, the Indian team wants Shastri to return which makes him the favourite for the job.
"Ravi (Shastri) actually was the one where the turnaround actually started for the Indian cricket team back in 2014. After India lost in England, the BCCI asked him to come in as a team director... suddenly there was a change in the team's fortunes over a period of time. Now that he's applied, he's probably the man who is going to get the job," former India captain Gavaskar told NDTV.
On social media however, Shastri's formal bid yesterday sparked a hot debate, with some fans contending that the entire episode would cause huge harm to the future of Indian cricket. The post was vacated last month by Anil Kumble, who retired hurt saying his partnership with captain Kohli was untenable as the latter had reservations about his style.
However, some others backed Shastri to do a good job if appointed coach.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) will hold the interviews for the job on July 10 in Mumbai. The deadline for applications is July 9. Apart from Shastri, some of the other applicants are Virender Sehwag, Lalchand Rajput, Tom Moody, Richard Pybus and Dodda Ganesh.