Former World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev-led Cricket Advisory Committee's (CAC) co-member Anshuman Gaekwad has reportedly stated that Virat Kohli's opinion on Indian team coach selection will not bother them while selecting the coaching staff for Team India. The former batsman and coach was quoted by IANS as saying that the captain can express his views but they have to go with an open mind during the selection process.
"The captain can say anything. It doesn't bother us. We are a committee. That's his opinion and the BCCI takes a note of it, not us" Gaekwad told IANS.
"We have to go with an open mind. There are interviews to be conducted. Lot of people from India and abroad have applied. We have to go there and assess things," he further added.
The CAC comprises Kapil Dev, Anshuman Gaekwad and former women's team captain Shanta Rangaswamy and they have been given the responsibility to select the coaching staff for Team India.
Before leaving for the West Indies tour, Virat Kohli stated that he wanted Ravi Shastri as the head coach of the Indian team.
"The CAC hasn't contacted me yet. If they want my opinion, I'll go and speak to them. With Ravi Bhai, we share a great camaraderie, and will definitely be very happy if he continues. But I haven't been contacted so far," Kohli had said.
In response to that Gaekwad further said that they will talk with Kohli if BCCI tells them to do so.
"It all depends on the BCCI. BCCI has to give us guideline and then we will go accordingly. He has already said yesterday (what he wants). When we chose the women's coach, we did not contact anybody. We did it on our own," Gaekwad further added.
The current coaching staff including Ravi Shastri (head coach), Bharat Arun (bowling coach) and Sanjay Bangar (batting coach) respectively have been given an extension by the BCCI till the end of the West Indies series.
The Men in Blue crashed out of the World Cup after suffering a loss at the hands of New Zealand by 18 runs. The major blame fell on the team management for wrong selection of team and some vital decisions which cost India the match.
After India's exit, there were rumours that some of the players are not happy with the head coach, Ravi Shastri and bowling coach Bharat Arun. BCCI opened the doors of new applications for the coaching staff of the Indian team after the World Cup failure.
