With Virat Kohli and the players getting their way as far as getting Anil Kumble to resign is concerned, the feeling is that whoever is appointed the next India cricket team coach will be based primarily on who the players want, making Ravi Shastri the main contender for the post.
Shastri narrowly missed out on staying as the head of the support staff last time out, when the Cricket Advisory Committee – which consists of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman – decided to go with Anil Kumble instead. Since then, Kohli and the players have made it known that their preferred choice at the time was Shastri, who was in a team director post, continuing on.
Kumble decided to step down as the India coach earlier this month after his man-management skills, or the lack of it, led to him alienating the players, and in a sport where the captain, in particular, is the boss, that was never going to work out.
With Shastri, that is never going to be a problem. You know he has the skills and ability to handle players, while the fact that he was a successful player in his day gives him that natural respect from the players.
The former India all-rounder is also helped by the fact that there aren't too many big-name contenders in the fray – the deadline for applications isn't over, so that could change. There is Tom Moody, who, actually should be the frontrunner for the job, and there is Virender Sehwag, with Richard Pybus, Dodda Ganesh and Lalchand Rajput not being seen as serious contenders.
So, understandably, Shastri is seen as the leading candidate for the post, despite the fact that he got into an ugly spat with one of the CAC members Ganguly, the last time the BCCI went through the coach process, a little over a year back.
Asked about his opinion on the new India coach, Kohli, speaking to reporters a day before the third ODI against the West Indies in Antigua, said he will only have a say if the BCCI asks him for one.
"From a personal point of view, I can't pinpoint anything or give any details," Kohli said. "We as a team only voice our opinion when asked by the BCCI.
"Suggestions are given to the BCCI. There is no point in saying anything out in the open because that is for us as a team to convey to the BCCI as when we are asked."
There is little doubt that Kohli and the rest of the players' preference will be taken into consideration, and while that might look like player power coming to the fore again, it would be counter-productive to hire someone who will end up having issues with the team members again.
Kohli might have a soft spot for Shastri, having worked successfully with him in the past, but someone like Moody, who stays in the background, while doing his work to a T, might just be the way to go, just so that the players don't come out looking like the villains again.
