Mumbai coach job: Pravin Amre not being ruled out in race

As of now, only six applications have been received - ex-India cricketers

TheâÂu00c2u0080Âu00c2u0088three-day extension to invite more applications for the Mumbai coach job turned out to be a futile exercise as the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) did not receive any new applications when the deadline to apply ended yesterday.

As of now, only six applications have been received - ex-India cricketers Ramesh Powar and Ajay Ratra, former Mumbai stumper Vinayak Samant, former Vidarbha off-spinner Pritam Gandhe, ex-Maharashtra batsman Nandan Phadnis and former Mumbai U-19 coach Vinod Raghavan, who has applied for the senior and U-19 positions.

On July 11, the MCA's Cricket Improvement Committee (CIC) will meet to finalise the coaches for the Mumbai senior and its U-19 teams. MCA sources yesterday confirmed that only Powar and Samant have been invited for a formal interview process so far. Powar's elder brother Kiran, who has applied to coach the U-19 team, has also been invited for the interview, it is learnt. Former India pacer Karsan Ghavri will join CIC chairman Ajit Wadekar, Balvinder Singh Sandhu, Amol Muzumdar and Sahil Kukreja via video conference from the United Kingdom.

However, there could be a twist in the tale where the Mumbai Ranji Trophy team coach is concerned. Several sources with whom mid-day spoke to have indicated that Pravin Amre, who coached Mumbai for six years over two stints, is the prime choice for the coach's job.

Amre though has formally not applied for the job, it is learnt. He is quite keen to take up the job, provided there is clarity on conflict of interest issues. Amre was part of the Delhi in the last T20 on a one-year contract. Earlier this year, the former India batsman had resigned from the MCA's Managing Committee over conflict of interest with his T20 role. In 2016, Amre was charged with conflict of interest by the BCCI ombudsman. For the players too, Amre is their preferred choice.

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