The Committee of Administrators is unhappy about the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s decision to extend the deadline to receive applications for the post of head coach, reported Indian Express on Tuesday.
The BCCI had originally posted a job position for head coach on May 25 and had asked for applications to be sent in by May 31. But after the previous incumbent Anil Kumble stepped down on June 20, the deadline was extended till July 9 to ensure that a broader pool was available to select from.
According to the report, the three members of the COA, Vinod Rai, Vikram Limaye and Diana Edulji, questioned the organisation’s CEO Rahul Johri on the reason behind BCCI’s decision to extend the deadline and not considering those who had applied in the first place. They also expressed their unhappiness at not being kept in the loop.
Though Johri responded that the extension was done as potential applicants had stayed away in the first phase on the belief that Kumble would be retained, the response was not well-received.
“Not everybody was convinced by Johri’s explanation and Phase Two of the coach selection process was seen as unnecessary,” said a source, quoted in the report. “He was even asked if new applications were invited at captain Virat Kohli’s behest.”
However, the BCCI CEO told Indian Express that they had informed “all concerned” before inviting a second round of applications.
The report added that the COA was also unhappy with the performance of BCCI’s Cricket Advisory Committee, comprising legends Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman.
“On one hand, the BCCI says they are just following the process of calling an application for the head coach’s job. On the other hand, they haven’t interviewed a single candidate who applied for the job so far,” said a BCCI official, as quoted by Indian Express. “Craig McDermott’s application was rejected because his application was received after the deadline. After all this, the CAC endorsed Kumble without meeting any candidate. So why is there this farce of calling for applications again?”
According to the report, the Supreme Court-mandated committee has also sought to know if the team manager of the Indian team last year flagged the Kohli-Kumble rift.
Former Indian batsman Virender Sehwag, Australia’s Tom Moody, Richard Pybus, Lalchand Rajput and Dodda Ganesh had applied for the position in the first round of applications. It was reported that BCCI’s extension of the application would benefit Ravi Shastri who had applied for the post last year and lost out to Kumble. However, there has been no confirmation on those who have applied for the post after the extension.