Gillespie, Law join the race for India coach's job

Former Australia internationals, Stuart Law and Jason Gillespie, who have established themselves as coaches of repute of late, have emerged as the most high-profile overseas candidates to have applied for the post of Team India’s head coach.

Published : Jun 08, 2016 20:23 IST , Mumbai

Jason Gillespie started his coaching career with a provincial side in Zimbabwe, and then moved to England where he guided Yorkshire to resurgence in the County championships.
Jason Gillespie started his coaching career with a provincial side in Zimbabwe, and then moved to England where he guided Yorkshire to resurgence in the County championships.
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Jason Gillespie started his coaching career with a provincial side in Zimbabwe, and then moved to England where he guided Yorkshire to resurgence in the County championships.

Former Australia internationals, Stuart Law and Jason Gillespie, who have established themselves as coaches of repute of late, have emerged as the most high-profile overseas candidates to have applied for the post of Team India’s head coach.

The Australia duo, along with former India bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad, are understood to have emailed the BCCI their applications.

Law, a former middle-order batsman, has been involved in coaching sub-continental teams since hanging up his boots in 2009. He served as assistant coach of the Sri Lankan national team from 2009 to 2011, and was then elevated to the head coach the following year.

A year after that, Law took charge of Bangladesh.

Gillespie was Glenn McGrath’s partner with the new ball for almost a decade. After his playing days, Gillespie started his coaching career with a provincial side in Zimbabwe, and then moved to England where he guided Yorkshire to resurgence in the County championships.

As expected, Prasad, a former India seamer, has applied for the job too. The chairman of India’s junior selection committee has thus followed in the footsteps of the chief of senior selection panel, Sandeep Patil.

Prasad thus joins a group of domestic coaches comprising Lalchand Rajput, Robin Singh and Vikram Rathour to have applied for the job, besides clear favourites Ravi Shastri and Patil.

Assistant coaches back Shastri

The three assistant coaches who formed the core of Shastri’s coaching staff over the last 18 months — Sanjay Bangar (batting), B. Arun (bowling) and R. Sridhar (fielding) — are understood to have decided against applying for the head coach’s position — a decision being a show of support to Shastri’s candidature.

Shastri is understood to have specified in his presentation to the BCCI that he would like to retain the backroom staff from over the last 18 months.

With the deadline to apply for the high-pressure job set to expire on Friday, the process of processing applications is likely to be finalised on Thursday when Board president Anurag Thakur will attend a host of meetings at the headquarters.

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