Vinod Rai Asks BCCI To Name Indian Cricket Team Coach By Tuesday Evening

In a major twist to the Team India coaching saga, Committee of Administrators (CoA) head Vinod Rai asked the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to announce the name of the next coach by Tuesday evening, according to reports in various sections of media. The Indian cricket board's Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) had decided to put the announcement on hold as they wanted to consult team captain Virat Kohli and 'people who matter'. CAC member and former India captain Sourav Ganguly, responded to Rai's instructions during an event on Tuesday.

"We will speak to him (Rai), I will speak to him. He is a very respected man." Ganguly said.

"This afternoon I was supposed to go to Delhi, but that has been cancelled. We will speak to him (Vinod Rai) because all that was announced yesterday was with everyone's permission and everybody was on board.

"He (Rai) has got the right (to ask us). The reason what we wanted to (hold back) was because Virat is on a holiday to America, and you don't want to disturb him in the break. If he is available on the phone, we will talk to him."

Ganguly had announced in Mumbai on Monday that the announcement had been kept on hold as the people who would take Indian cricket forward needed to be consulted. "(We) will take a few more days to decide," Ganguly told a press conference after the coaching candidates had been interviewed. "We are not in a hurry."

The CAC interviewed five candidates -- Virender Sehwag, Ravi Shastri, Tom Moody, Richard Pybus and Lalchand Rajput-- for the job, which fell vacant after Anil Kumble's acrimonious departure.

It is learnt that each interview went for about an hour and the candidates were asked a particular set of questions.

Asked about the inputs taken from Kohli in the meetings during the Champions Trophy, Ganguly said, "That was on a different aspect. As I said, he has stayed out of the whole thing.

"We want to make sure we take the best possible decision for Indian cricket. The coach, captain and players are the ones who will take Indian cricket forward. The CAC goes out of the picture once the coach is selected."

Ganguly hinted that the coach will be picked before the Sri Lanka tour that begins with the first Test on July 26.

Kumble resigned from the head coach's post just after the ICC Champions Trophy final against Pakistan last month due to 'untenable' differences with skipper Kohli.

(With inputs from PTI and IANS)