BCCI mulls selection of support staff via interviews

It is learnt that the same process is set to be introduced for picking the best support staff and not to leave it to the fancy of the chief coach and the captain.

The unfortunate exit of Anil Kumble after a one-year successful stint has once again led the Board to go through the process of fresh applications and interviews.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is mulling the introduction of interview system to finalise the support staff of the national team at all levels – senior and junior.

A new process was set last season when the Board decided to appoint National selectors and the chief coach of the India team by inviting applications for the job.

Ravi Shastri, after serving as Team Director, gave way to Anil Kumble, who came up with an impressive presentation to stake his claims. The coach was picked on the basis of an interview to bring in transparency to the job.

It was a pleasant departure from the past when the top brass of the Board would decide on the coach after consulting the senior members of the team. John Wright (2000-05), Greg Chappell (2005-07), Gary Kirsten (2007-11) and Duncan Fletcher (2011-15) were handed the job when some of the senior players recommended their names.

The arrangement had mostly worked well even though Chappell had to make an acrimonious exit and Fletcher was eased out at the end of a disastrous tour to England when India lost the Test series 1-3. The unfortunate exit of Kumble after a one-year successful stint has once again led the Board to go through the process of fresh applications and interviews.

It is learnt that the same process is set to be introduced for picking the best support staff and not to leave it to the fancy of the chief coach and the captain.

A senior Board official confirmed the process of having interviews to select the batting coach, bowling coach and the fielding coach for the India senior and junior teams. “The idea is to pick the best and give credence to the hard work that many former players put in when taking to coaching. We want to make everything professional,” said the official.

The move is based on the idea to recognise the performances of the domestic coaches who qualify for the job by clearing various levels. “Such decisions would not be left at the discretion of individuals. Once the Lodha Committee reforms come into place it would become mandatory to make all appointments through a proper process in all sections of the administration too,” the official emphasised.

The move to appoint a Team Director, someone who excels in man management, with a battery of highly qualified assistants in all departments is set to be the way forward for the BCCI.