Rahul Dravid has sought a few days’ time from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) before agreeing to apply for the Team India head coach’s post.
The former India captain, who is currently the National Cricket Academy’s head of cricket, met BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, secretary Jay Shah and treasurer Arun Dhumal in Dubai on Friday evening for an informal chat which lasted more than a couple of hours. Left with limited alternatives on a successor to Ravi Shastri after the T20 World Cup in the UAE next month, the BCCI brass is learnt to have tried to convince Dravid on the job.
Sources told The Telegraph that Dravid neither agreed nor declined and has told them that he will get back after speaking to his family. He is scheduled to return to Bangalore late on Saturday.
The BCCI always wanted Dravid to take over from Shastri but the NCA head has maintained that he has a young family to look after and hence couldn’t devote so much time to travelling. That has been the prime reason behind Dravid continuing to operate from his hometown, Bangalore, since 2019.
The appointment of the new support staff comprising the head coach, batting and fielding coaches has to go through a process laid down by the Board’s constitution. As a first step, the BCCI will advertise for the post later this week and expects to complete the formalities before the home series versus New Zealand, which begins on November 17.
“The BCCI has failed to find an Indian coach of similar stature. If the team has to perform with the same intensity, then there’s no other way out but to have Dravid as coach. There are several overseas coaches, including Kolkata Knight Riders’ Brendon McCullum, who have shown interest but the BCCI wants an Indian in charge,” a source told The Telegraph.
“Anil Kumble wasn’t considered because of past controversies. Virender Sehwag or VVS Laxman do not have the coaching experience to be the Team India head coach. Hence we are left with no choice but to persuade Dravid to accept the role. We are expecting a positive feedback,” the source said.
The BCCI will also have to put a Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) in place before the potential candidates are shortlisted and interviewed. When Ravi Shastri was chosen as head coach in August 2019 for a second term, the CAC comprised Kapil Dev, Anshuman Gaekwad and Shantha Rangaswamy.
It is also learnt that Paras Mhambrey, Dravid’s bowling consultant both at the NCA as well as in the India A and Under-19 teams, is the favourite to take over as the bowling coach.