Needless to say that if skipper Virat Kohli is given a choice to pick between Sehwag and Shastri, he may well put his weight behind the latter
Not even a day has passed since Team India chief coach Anil Kumble stepped down, a bitter war of words has broken out between the two major groups within the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) over the process of selecting his replacement.
With one group, led by acting president CK Khanna and Rajiv Shukla, dropping hints that there is a possibility that fresh applications for the head coach's post may be invited over next week or so, the other group of former president N Srinivasan is opposed to any such move.
The Srinivasan camp has backed the five applicants — Virender Sehwag, Sunrisers Hyderabad coach Tom Moody, Englishman Richard Pybus, Afghanistan coach Lalchand Rajput and Dodda Ganesh — who have mailed their resume.
DNA has learnt that this move has been a desperate attempt to stop former team director Ravi Shastri from getting back into the Indian dressing room.
Needless to say that if skipper Virat Kohli is given a choice to pick between Sehwag and Shastri, he may well put his weight behind the latter.
DNA reported before the start of Champions Trophy that "Kohli has let it known to the three-member Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) that he is more comfortable with Shastri in the dressing room".
Kohli apparently reiterated his words during recent interaction with members of the CAC in London. Shastri, however, has not applied for the post this time as he had an ugly spat with Sourav Ganguly last year and is said to be apprehensive of the former captain's influence in the CAC.
The other powerful group, who has been backing the candidature of Sehwag, has questioned the basis of calling for fresh applications. "If you scrap the entire process, only then the new applications can be called in," said a BCCI insider on Wednesday.
He also demanded that time has come to review the role of CAC comprising of greats Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly.
"How could CAC offer an extension to Kumble without even interviewing the other applicants," asked the official. "Was it a sham? Why did you make an advertisement for this post? Isn't it time to limit the role of CAC?"
The official was, indeed, trying to find reasons to drop the ongoing process if it comes to that. "Wasn't it a pre-conceived move to extend Kumble's tenure. Who has given you (CAC) a right to insult others?" asked the official.
Kumble's 'no show'
Meanwhile, the members of Indian team checked into their respective hotel rooms in Trinidad and Tobago on Wednesday. The room booked for Kumble remained unoccupied before being surrendered by team management.
This has come hours after a "no show" was registered against Kumble's airline ticket from London.
"Coach's ticket and room for this tour was booked in advance. The players or support staff only came to know about him not accompanying the team only minutes before leaving the hotel premises in London. By then, it was too late to cancel his bookings," said an official accompanying the team.
When asked about players' reactions over this entire drama, the answer came in just a line: "No one is missing anyone here."
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 "Ravi Shastri with Virat Kohli")
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