'Kohli entitled to his opinion but only CAC will decide the next coach'

Ravi Shastri with Virat Kohli during a team photo

Cricket administrator Shantha Rangaswamy said that the next India coach will be hand-picked by the three-member Cricket Advisory Committee but Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli is entitled to his opinion.

The CAC includes ex-India cricketers Anshuman Gaekwad and Kapil Dev along-with Shantha Rangaswamy. In the presser before going to the tour to West Indies, Virat Kohli said that he would be very happy if Ravi Shastri continues as India coach even after the West Indies tour.

"Virat is the captain and he is entitled to his opinion but it will be the collective opinion of the three of us (CAC) which will determine who the the next head coach is," former India women's captain Rangaswamy told PTI.

"I read some media reports and I endorse Anshuman's view on the matter. We need to look at all aspects -- his experience, the ability to bring the team together and how a good a strategist one is," she said.

Gaekwad told PTI that the CAC is neutral and goes into the process with an open mind. "The totality of that will be considered and individuals don't matter, it is the collective opinion which will weigh in determining who the head coach is," she added.

With Kohli's public backing, Shastri has emerged as the favourite for the job. The others who are in the race are Australian Tom Moody and former India internationals Lalchand Rajput and Robin Singh.

The application deadline ended on Tuesday and the CAC is expected to conduct interviews of the shortlisted candidates mid-August.

While Virat Kohli expressing his preference when the selection process is on has been questioned by some, a few others including Sourav Ganguly feel that the Indian captain has every right to voice his opinion.

Ravi Shastri has had a successful tenure with the Indian team so far in the last couple of years, his tenure being highlighted with India's first Test series victory in Australia in 2019.

India also had a very good World Cup 2019 campaign, the only bad session of play that they played in the whole tournament being in the semifinal, which knocked India out of the World Cup.

As a player, Ravi Shastri played for the India national cricket team between 1981 and 1992 in both Tests and ODIs. Although he started his career as a left-arm spin bowler, Ravi Shastri later transformed into a batting all-rounder.

Ravi Shastri was forced to retire at the age of 31 due to a recurring knee injury. Ravi Shastri has done commentary on behalf of BCCI in the matches that India played.

He formed a famous commentary pair with Wasim Akram and they had a commentary show called Shaz and Waz.

With inputs from PTI

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