On Tuesday, June 18, interviews were held for the position of head coach of the Indian men’s cricket team, which involves Gautam Gambhir and W.V. Raman, two former opening batsmen. For their interviews with the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), the pair reportedly appeared remotely.
Rahul Dravid, the current head coach of India, is thought to be replaced by Gambhir. Still, Raman has thrown in his hat as well. The presentations made by both applicants reportedly pleased Ashok Malhotra and his two CAC colleagues, Sulakshana Naik and Jatin Paranjape.
In May, the BCCI opened applications for the position of head coach, with a three-and-a-half-year term beginning on July 1. Applications were accepted until May 27. It’s unclear if any further candidates were interviewed on Tuesday. With Raman’s arrival into the picture, it’s safe to assume that things won’t be going entirely one way for the KKR mentor.
The Chennai native has a wealth of coaching expertise. His entry into the picture may cause the BCCI administration some amusement as they search for their next head coach. On Wednesday, CAC has a head coach interview arranged from abroad.
Also read: Reports: Gautam Gambhir interviewed by CAC for India head coach role
“Raman gave a very powerful and thorough presentation, but Gambhir had a virtual interview. It is probable that tomorrow the CAC will interview a candidate from outside. News18 cited a BCCI executive as saying, “Gambir has the advantage, but Raman’s presentation was very thorough.”
W.V. Raman: Who is he?
In the years 1988–1997 Raman represented India in 11 Test matches and 27 One-Day Internationals. The left-handed batter entered teaching after ending his playing career.
Bengal and Tamil Nadu are two teams that Raman has coached in the past. In addition, he was Kolkata Knight Riders’ batting coach and Punjab Kings’ (formerly Kings XI Punjab’s) assistant coach. The Kolkata-based team won the coveted Indian Premier League title while he was the batting coach for KKR. Remarkably, Gambhir led that group as captain.
Remarkably, in 2017 Raman had coached the Indian Colts in lieu of Rahul Dravid, who was then batting consultant and could not be reached due to India A commitments.
Raman was hired in 2015 to work as the batting coach at Bengaluru’s National Cricket Academy (NCA). After three years, he became the Indian women’s team’s head coach.