Kumble applies for the post of head coach

Anil Kumble's decision to apply again for the post that he has been occupying since July 2016 is a matter of intrigue because the BCCI has allowed him a direct entry into the selection process.

India hasn't lost a Test series ever since Anil Kumble took charge as its coach.

Anil Kumble has applied afresh for the post of head coach of the Indian team.

His decision to reapply for the post that he has been occupying since July 2016 is a matter of intrigue because the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has allowed him a direct entry into the selection process.

Reliable sources said Kumble had applied for the job on May 30. Clearly, Kumble has shown the inclination and zeal to continue for a longer time.

The BCCI invited applications on May 25 citing that Kumble’s tenure as head coach would conclude with India’s campaign in the ICC Champions Trophy in England. But it clarified that the former India captain needn't apply for the post.

The BCCI has not announced the number of applications it has received online by the May 31 deadline. Reports have, however, confirmed that former India players Virender Sehwag, Lalchand Rajput, Dodda Ganesh and foreigners Richard Pybus, Tom Moody and Craig McDermott have applied. Sehwag, as reports suggest, was asked by the BCCI officials and Indian skipper Virat Kohli to apply for the post.

The BCCI also declared that "To ensure a fair and completely transparent process, a nominee of the Committee of Administrators (CoA) will oversee the entire process along with the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC). The BCCI's three-member CAC  comprising Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and  V. V. S. Laxman will conduct interviews and seek presentations to select the best possible candidate to guide the team and take Indian cricket forward.’’

While Kohli, during the IPL10, appears to have conveyed to the authorities about the need to look at someone other than Kumble for the job, the Supreme Court appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) came to know of the "minor upheaval" in the Indian dressing room when the BCCI CEO Rahul Johri showed it a text message he had received from Kohli at a meeting in Hyderabad on May 21.

The BCCI’s acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary was among the officials  present at the afore-mentioned meeting, when the CoA raised the question of the need for asking Sehwag to apply for the post of head coach. The BCCI office bearers, a few senior employees, CoA and Sehwag were aware that there were differences between Kohli and Kumble. Officials even went to the extent of ascertaining the views of assistant coach Sanjay Bangar.

Ramchandra Guha who resigned from the CoA recently, has said that the selection of the head coach has been "handled in an extremely insensitive and unprofessional manner by the BCCI CEO and the BCCI office bearers with the CoA, by its silence and inaction, unfortunately being complicit in this regard."

The CoA chairman Vinod Rai is expected to meet the CAC members and BCCI officials in England in June 5.