Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri shared a wonderful camaraderie when the latter was the Team Director. Shastri was looked upon inside the dressing room and gave a lot of freedom to players, which is not the case with the current India coach Anil Kumble.
Kumble, as a result, has also fallen out of favour, and the BCCI has decided not to extend his contract.
The players are not happy with the current Indian coach's working style. Champions Trophy could be his last assignment as the coach as his contract comes to a close at the end of the campaign.
The former leg-spinner, who was a direct entrant for eligible candidates, has also shown interest in taking up the job once again.
The Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) comprising of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman will think twice before giving the job to Kumble once again.
Virender Sehwag, Tom Moody, Dodda Ganesh, Richard Pybus and Lalchand Rajput have thrown their hat in the ring to become the next India coach. Sehwag and Moody are considered huge favourites for the prestigious job in world cricket. Since last two handlers were both Indians-- Shastri and Kumble-- and the fact that the team flourished under them might work against foreigners and make things easy for Sehwag.
However, Kohli was said to be backing Shastri for the job. However, the former player did not even apply for the position. Kohli, before flying out to England for the Champions Trophy met two members of the CAC and asked them to accept Shastri's application.
The selection process is set to start in the coming days, but Shastri will not be invited for the interview process.
Kohli was open in his admiration for Shastri in the past too. Even before Kumble landed the job last year, Kohli had spoken about Shastri doing a terrific job with the team. Though there is no confirmation if Kohli requested Shastri to apply for the job this time around, the India skipper must be disappointed that his favourite person will not even be one of the contenders for the job.
Given Kohli's pull in Indian cricket, can he somehow find a way to convince CAC to consider Shastri for the top post?
