Gautam Gambhir, only applicant for job of India men’s cricket coach, to be interviewed today

Interviews will also be conducted by the CAC to find a selector, who will replace Salil Ankola. Ankola and chief selector Ajit Agarkar are both from the West Zone, so the new selector is likely to be from the North Zone, a vacant position. Agarkar was appointed in July last year and replaced Chetan Sharma who had stepped down after being in the centre of a sting operation. Ankola was already a selector when Agarkar took over.

Following interviews, the CAC will make recommendations to the BCCI.

“We are conducting an interview session for candidates for the post of head coach and selector. The CAC will submit its recommendation to the BCCI and the board will make an official announcement thereafter,” a BCCI source confirmed.

The BCCI also had to clarify that no former Australian player had been approached for the job, after Ricky Ponting and Justin Langer, both coaches in the IPL, had said they had turned down approaches for the India coach job.

“Neither I nor the BCCI have approached any former Australian cricketer with a coaching offer,” BCCI secretary Jay Shah said in a statement. “The reports circulating in certain media sections are completely incorrect. Finding the right coach for our national team is a meticulous and thorough process. We are focused on identifying individuals who possess a deep understanding of the Indian cricket structure and have risen through the ranks.”

Some of the requirements of the new head coach listed by the BCCI were: the candidate “must be willing to meet work expectations and pressures associated with handling marquee athletes” and they should help in “developing a world-class Indian cricket team which delivers sustained success in all conditions and formats, inspiring current and future generations of cricketers and stakeholders with their approach to the game.”

The term for the new coach starts in July 2024 and stretches to December 31, 2027 – the year of the next ODI World Cup.