Rahul Dravid in line to replace Ravi Shastri as India's head coach

If things fall in place, Rahul Dravid could be seen as the head coach of the Indian cricket team, once Ravi Shastri's term expires next month.

Until recently, Rahul Dravid was not keen on taking up a full-time coaching role with the Indian team. - K. MURALI KUMAR (FILE)

If things fall in place, Rahul Dravid could be seen as the head coach of the Indian cricket team, once Ravi Shastri's term expires next month.

Sportstar  understands that after a marathon meeting with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) top brass - president Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah - in Dubai on Friday, Dravid has indicated that he will apply for the position as and when the Board formally invites applications. 

Dravid has always been the first choice for the BCCI as the head coach of the team, but until recently, he was not too keen on taking up a full-time coaching role and wanted to continue as the director of cricket at the National Cricket Academy.

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While there were talks that with the Board unable to find a suitable replacement for Shastri, Dravid could be drafted in as the coach for the home series against New Zealand, things took a positive turn after Dravid's meeting with Ganguly and Shah who discussed a roadmap of Indian cricket and persuaded Dravid to take up the job till 2023.

 

The Board is likely to issue advertisements for the job in the next few days and after that, it is expected to form a Cricket Advisory Committee to formally take the process forward. 

While Dravid remains a front-runner for the head coach job, the BCCI also plans to appoint Paras Mhambrey as the bowling coach of the team for a two-year term. 

Soon after the T20 World Cup, the tenure of Shastri, bowling coach Bharat Arun and fielding coach R. Sridhar will be over and it is believed that the Board is yet to zero in on a candidate as Sridhar's possible replacement.