New Delhi: Team India head coach aspirant Lalchand Rajput has hit out at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), calling its decision to invite fresh applications for the post left vacated by Anil Kumble “highly unprofessional”.
Rajput is unhappy with the way the situation has panned out. The BCCI, which had invited applications for India’s head coach post, last month, has invited fresh applications after ex-coach Kumble stepped down from the post amidst rumours of a rift with Kohli.
Rajput said that it was humiliating to hear news that the BCCI will be accepting fresh applications after they had a deadline of May 31. The man who has taken Afghanistan cricket to great heights as coach over the last year, feels that the BCCI should not only try to be professional, but should also treat the candidates who have applied with more respect.
"It is humiliating for sure. To have submitted the resume, to have been short-listed and to be now told that fresh applications will also be accepted is highly unprofessional on the part of the BCCI. It does show that the board never had faith in the other five candidates apart from Kumble and once he stepped down, they need new names to pick from," Rajput said to Cricketnext.
The 55-year-old also feels that coaches need to be qualified for the job and just having credentials as a player isn't enough to be made coach of a national team. He went on to name Trevor Bayliss and Russell Domingo as prime examples of successful coaches who weren't big stars as players.
Rajput wishes to clarify that his record as coach of the Indian team was just as impressive even though people often confused his role as that of the team manager back in 2007 when India lifted the inaugural World T20.
"Please take a look at my record. India won the World T20 under me, they won the CB series under me and also we beat Pakistan. We won at home and abroad. Most importantly, people thought my role as cricket manager was to manage the team. But let me tell you, Sunil Dev was the manager when India won the World T20. I was the coach of the team. People keep talking of India winning at home under Kumble, but I think I had the records to show even when India travelled abroad. This is indeed sad how things have panned out, clearly shows that the board is in a mess,” he signed off.
After Anil Kumble stepped down as coach of Team India, the BCCI has been on the lookout for replacement. Currently, Virat Kohli led Team India is touring the West Indies where they will be playing five ODIs and one T20Is.
The names that have been shortlisted for the interview by the Cricket Advisory Committee comprising of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman are Rajput, former India opener Virender Sehwag, Sunrisers Hyderabad coach Tom Moody, former Pakistan coach Richard Pybus and former India pacer Dodda Ganesh.
