Former South African opener and India's men's team's head coach Gary Kirsten has turned down the coaching offer from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Kirsten was approached for the head coach role of women's cricket team to replace the interim head coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar.
As per a report by ESPNCricinfo, Kirsten, who played a pivotal role in India’s ODI World Cup 2011 win has turned down the offer due to commitment with T20 franchises. Kirsten is involved with Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 winners Gujarat Titans (GT) as their batting coach.
Other candidates
Apart from Kirsten, former Mumbai captain Amol Muzumdar and former India all-rounder Kanitkar are in contention for the role as well. The main reason behind delay in appointing a new head coach is the inclination to find a foreign coach for women’s team.
Another big name in contention is former England skipper Charlotte Edwards who was also head coach of Mumbai Indian women's team in Women's Premier League (WPL). Under Edwards, the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side won the inaugural WPL edition. However, the 43-year-old has not applied for the position yet.
Two big challenges straightaway
The new coach is likely to be given a two-year term as India face a big challenge in next two years including T20 World Cup 2024 in Bangladesh and ODI World Cup 2025 which will be played at home.
BCCI announces selection committee
On the other hand, on June 19, BCCI announced women's selection committee and junior cricket committee. The Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) comprising of Sulakshana Naik, Ashok Malhotra, Jatin Paranjape were assigned to do the job. They appointed Shyama Dey Shaw and VS Thilak Naidu as selectors for Women's selection committee and Junior Cricket Committee respectively.
Women's Selection Committee: Neetu David (chairperson), Renu Margrate, Arati Vaidya, Kalpana Venkatachar, Shyama Dey Shaw.
Junior Cricket Committee: VS Thilak Naidu (chairperson), Ranadeb Bose, Harvinder Singh Sodhi, Pathik Patel, Krishen Mohan.
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