Eyeing the high-profile coach's job of the Indian cricket team, big names such as Anil Kumble, Ravi Shastri and Sandeep Patil along with other aspirants are set to be interviewed for the coveted post in Kolkata, on Tuesday.
- VOTE! Who should take over as India's coach?
The Board of Control for Cricket in India's cricket advisory committee comprising Sourav Ganguly, V V S Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar will conduct the interview of the shortlisted 21 candidates.
Tendulkar, who is currently in London, will join the interview session via a video conference.
Confirming the development, a top Cricket Association of Bengal official said all the "prominent" names who are in contention will attend the interview.
"Obviously the two-three prominent ones would be here. The meeting will start at 1.30 pm (IST). The meeting will be convened by Sanjay Jagdale," he said.
Besides Shastri, Kumble and Patil, the other Indian names in contention include Vikram Rathour, Praveen Amre, Balwinder Sandhu and Venkatesh Prasad among others.
The recommendation of the advisory committee will be forwarded to the BCCI president Anurag Thakur for ratification at the working committee meeting in Dharamsala on June 24.
Spin great Kumble, incidentally, does not meet all the criterias set out by the BCCI. He has no coaching experience at either the international level or first-class level, nor has he passed any course from the National Cricket Academy.
The BCCI in their advertisement for the coach had also stated: "it is preferred that the candidate should be qualified through a certification/assessment program conducted by any of the Full Member countries, and currently possess such a valid certification."
Kumble, 45, who is India's highest Test wicket-taker with 619 scalps, however, had mentored Mumbai Indians to two Indian Premier League title wins -- in 2013 and 2015.
The Board is keen to announce the coach ahead of the Test tour of the West Indies next month.
