Kolkata, August 3
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has said he wants to become the Indian cricket team’s head coach, but he’s not in a hurry to take charge due to his current commitments. “Definitely, I’m interested but not at this point of time. Let one more phase go then I will throw my name into the fray,” Ganguly said at a promotional event today.
Ganguly, the president of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), is also a mentor with IPL team Delhi Capitals. He is also a regular in the commentary box. Ganguly referred to these commitments when he said that now is not the right time for him to apply to become India’s head coach. “Currently, I’m associated with too many things — IPL, CAB, TV commentary. Let me complete this. But I will definitely put my hat at some stage. Provided I get selected. But definitely I’m interested. Not now, but in the future,” Ganguly said.
Shastri favourite
Talking about the Kapil Dev-led Cricket Advisory Committee, which will select the next India coach, Ganguly said there are not many big names in the fray, hinting at the incumbent Ravi Shastri getting an extension. India captain Virat Kohli too has backed Shastri to continue in the role.
It has emerged that there are over 2,000 applicants for the job, and among the top names that have applied are Australia’s Tom Moody, former India players Lalchand Rajput and Robin Singh, and former New Zealand coach Mike Hesson. “Going by the applicants, I don’t see any heavyweight names. I heard Mahela (Jayawardene) would apply but ultimately he didn’t… There are not many big names who have applied for the coach’s job,” Ganguly said.
