Jay Shah denies approaching Australians for India coach's job

BCCI secretary Jay Shah on Friday rejected claims that the Board has approached any former Australian cricketer to be Team India head coach and hinted that Rahul Dravids successor could be an Indian by saying that he should have a deep understanding of the games structure in the countryWhile Dravid has reportedly told the board that he is not interested in a third stint former Australian players like Ricky Ponting and Justin Langer have claimed that they have turned down approaches for the highprofile positionNeither I nor the BCCI have approached any former Australian cricketer with a coaching offer The reports circulating in certain media sections are completely incorrect Shah said in a statementBoth Ponting and Langer are involved in the Indian Premier League as the head coaches of Delhi Capitals and Lucknow Super Giants respectively World Cupwinning former batting star Gautam Gambhir who is currently mentoring Kolkata Knight Riders is speculated to be among the top contenders for the post right nowFinding the right coach for our national team is a meticulous and thorough process We are focused on identifying individuals who possess a deep understanding of the Indian cricket structure and have risen through the ranks Shah saidThe BCCI secretary also said that having indepth knowledge of Indian domestic cricket will be one of the important criteria for appointing the next coach He said the understanding would be crucial to truly elevate Team India to the next level The BCCI has set May 27 as the last date for filing applications for the next Team India head coachPonting had claimed on Thursday that he was approached to take over the role but said that he declined as it did not fit with his lifestyle right nowAlso ReadIPL 2024 Qualifier 2 Battle of equals as Royals face Hyderabad at ChepaukPonting told ICC review Ive seen a lot of reports about it Normally these things pop up on social media before you even know about them but there were a few little oneonone conversations during the IPL just to get a level of interest from me as to whether I would do itId love to be a senior coach of a national team but with the other things that I have in my life and wanting to have a bit of time at homeiquesteveryone knows if you take a job working with the Indian team you cant be involved in an IPL team so it would take that out of it as well he saidTaking up the job of coaching India also implies spending 1011 months away from home but Ponting said his family seemed ready for itI had a whisper to my son about it and I said Dads been offered the Indian coaching job and he said Just take it dad we would love to move over there for the next couple of years he saidThats how much they love being over there and the culture of cricket in India but right now it probably doesnt exactly fit into my lifestyle Ponting saidMeanwhile Langer who had remained noncommittal about applying for India coaching role after IPL clash between LSG and Mumbai Indians said he would never say never but at the same time revealed receiving crucial advice from Lucknow skipper KL RahulLanger told BBC Stumped Podcast It would be an amazing job I also know that its an allencompassing role and having done it for four years with the Australian team honestly its exhausting And thats the Australian jobYou never say never And the pressure of doing it in India I was talking to KL Rahul and he said You know if you think theres pressure and politics in an IPL team multiply that by a thousand that is coaching India That was a good bit of advice I guess Langer saidIt would be an awesome job but not for me at the moment he addedFormer England and current Royal Challengers Bengaluru head coach Andy Flower had also ruled himself out of the race saying he is happy being involved in franchise cricket for nowChennai Super Kings chief executive Kasi Viswanathan has done the same for Stephen Fleming claiming the former New Zealand captain wont be keen on taking a job which requires him to work nineten months a yearShah described the position of Indias head coach as the most prestigious job in international cricket saying it demands high level of professionalism given the kind of support the national side enjoysWhen we talk about international cricket no role is more prestigious than that of the Head Coach of the Indian Cricket Team Team India commands the largest fan base globally enjoying support that is truly unrivalled he saidOur rich history passion for the game make this one of the most lucrative jobs in the world The role demands a high level of professionalism as one gets to nurture some of the best cricketers in the world and an assembly line of talented cricketers to followCatering to the aspirations of a billion fans is a huge honour and the BCCI will pick the right candidate capable of propelling Indian cricket forward Shah addedWith agency inputs