Anil Kumble is on the shortlist of six candidates for the coach’s role and remains the favoured option of the Cricket Advisory Committee © AFP
The BCCI is likely to extend Anil Kumble‘s contract as India coach to cover the West Indies tour in case the cricket advisory committee (CAC), tasked with appointing his successor, fails to arrive at a final choice before that. The decision was taken by the Committee of Administrators (CoA), after consulting with BCCI secretary Amitabh Choudhary and chief executive officer Rahul Johri on Monday.
“In case there is a delay in taking a decision (by the CAC) we will request Anil Kumble to cover the West Indies tour also,” Vinod Rai, the CoA chairman, told ESPNcricinfo. Rai said the BCCI would also check with Kumble in case he is “happy” to continue until the West Indies tour, which starts from June 23. As per the original schedule, India are scheduled to travel to the Caribbean from London on June 22, for five ODIs and one T20 international.
Kumble was appointed India coach in June last year and was given a one-year contract, which expires after the Champions Trophy. Last month, the BCCI decided to invite fresh applications for the position after being made aware of the players’ reported unhappiness with Kumble’s man-management skills.
Kumble is on the shortlist of six candidates and remains the first choice of the CAC, which comprises Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman. Although the BCCI was in favour of appointing the new coach, with the likelihood of a two-year contract until the 2019 World Cup, the CAC has said that it does not want to take a hasty decision. The CAC’s first option, as previously reported, is to try and patch up differences between captain Virat Kohli and Kumble.
Nagraj Gollapudi is a senior assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo