BCCI has received 10 applications for the post – Shastri, Virender Sehwag, Tom Moody, Richard Pybus, Dodda Ganesh, Lalchand Rajput, Lance Klusener, Rakesh Sharma (Oman national team coach), Phil Simmons and Upendranath Bramhachari (engineer with no cricketing background). Six of them will be interviewed on Monday for the job, according to the reports. 

We take a look at the top six contenders for the job. 

Ravi Shastri

Life has come full circle for the former team director. Ravi Shastri who lost the job last year to Kumble had not even applied for the post but after BCCI extended the deadline due to Kumble’s resignation, he decided give it another go.

The former cricketer is deemed as the favourite to land the job due to his proximity to Kohli. Shastri had a successful tenure as the team director. Under his guidance India reached the semi-finals of 2015 ODI World Cup, held in Australia and New Zealand. 

It will be interesting to see Ganguly’s take on Shastri candidacy. The duo was involved in a public spat last year after Shastri wasn’t picked as the coach. 

Virender Sehwag

The flamboyant former Indian opener is another heavyweight name in the list. Sehwag who boasts an incredible successful playing career does not have much coaching experience to back his case.

A two-year stint as IPL side Kings XI Punjab’s mentor is one of the few coaching experiences that the veteran can bank upon.

Tom Moody

By far the most qualified candidate for the job. The former Australian cricketer has rich credentials as an international and franchise coach. He had coached Sri Lanka to the 2011 World Cup final and guided Sunrisers Hyderabad to an IPL triumph.

Moody had also appeared last year for an interview but lost out to Kumble, who was too big a name to be ignored. What works for Moody is his calm demeanour and ability to work from behind the scenes.

Lalchand Rajput

The former Indian cricketer may not be the favourite for the job, but he boasts a vast coaching experience. Rajput was the manager of the Indian team which clinched the inaugural World T20 tournament in South Africa.

Under his guidance, India also won the ODI and Test series against Pakistan at home in 2007 and the triangular ODI series in Australia in 2008. Rajput has also coached India’s Under-19 and ‘A’ teams. He is the current coach of Afghanistan national team. 

Phil Simmons

The former West Indies cricketer is also an experienced candidate. Simmons coached Ireland for eight years – longest coaching duration of a single team in international cricket. 

Ireland made tremendous progress under Simmons’ guidance making a name themselves in the international circuit. The team qualified for all major ICC events during his tenure and also defeated West Indies and England in World Cup events.

The former all-rounder also lead the West Indies team to World T20 trophy in 2016.

Richard Pybus

The South African currently serves as director of cricket for the West Indies cricket board. Richard Pybus in past has the experience of coaching the Pakistan national team – he led them to the 1999 ODI World Cup final. He has also coached Bangladesh national team for a year.

Pybus also boasts a hugely successful domestic coaching career in South Africa. 

Feature image: PTI/BCCI