Sydney: Former Australian pacer Jason Gillespie has said that he might be interested in applying for the India coach's job in a couple of years.

"I think it would have been a wonderful job and I congratulate Ravi Shastri on getting that job, maybe one day, in a couple of years, that'd be something I'd seriously consider," Gillespie was quoted saying Cricket Australia's website.

On July 11, Shastri was named as Indian cricket team's chief coach, replacing Anil Kumble.

Gillespie said he was not able to decide this time whether to apply for the post or not.

"I talked a lot about that with my family... I to'ed and fro'ed. I had days where I thought, right, I'm definitely applying for it, I'm going to have a crack and see how far I get," said the 42- year-old.

"Other days where I wasn't so sure. In the end, I just felt I wasn't quite ready for that opportunity," said Gillespie, who took 259 Test wickets in 71 matches and 142 wickets in 97 ODIs in his international career.

Gillespie also said that India's decision to appoint Shastri did not necessarily mark a shift toward local coaches being the favoured option. "You've always just got to have an approach to just select the best guy. "If it's a local guy, it's a local guy. If it's an international, then so be it.

"You certainly don't want to get up in the politics of all that. All you can do as a coach is present your case on how you think you can make a difference and help the team perform better."

"If you're the best man for the job, then you should get offered that opportunity."

"Speaking as a coach, you only want to be judged on whether you think you can make a difference and help the side, and that's how it should be. We'll have to wait and see on what jobs come up in the future."

Gillespie revealed that he has reservations about Sri Lanka's vacancy, noting they "haven't had a history of sticking with their coaches for too long".