New Delhi: Former India left-arm spinner Sunil Joshi has thrown his hat in the ring for the post of spin bowling coach at BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (COE) that was vacated by Sairaj Bahutule earlier this year.
The COE was earlier known as the National Cricket Academy when it was based out of the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. It remains in the city but is now operational from a new location after BCCI purchased land to build a more expansive facility.
Bahutule resigned to become an assistant coach in IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals.
The 54-year-old Joshi, who played 15 Tests and 69 ODIs for India between 1996 and 2002, is currently working with Ricky Ponting in the Punjab Kings IPL team and has also coached Uttar Pradesh during the domestic season.
He has also worked with Bangladesh’s national men’s team as its spin bowling consultant.
According to sources in the BCCI, Joshi appeared for his interview online in front of a three-member panel comprising COE’s Head of Cricket VVS Laxman, chairman of men’s selection committee Ajit Agarkar and General Manager (Cricket Operations) Abbey Kuruvilla.
There were four others, who appeared for the interview in person, including India U-19 women’s team coach Nooshin Al Khadeer, who was an off-spinner during her playing days.
She represented the country in five Tests and 78 WODIs and has been working in the erstwhile NCA setup for some years now.
Another strong candidate is believed to be Rakesh Dhruv, a former Gujarat and Saurashtra left-arm spinner. Veteran off-spinner Pritam Gandhe, a domestic doyen from Vidarbha, has also been interviewed for the post.
When a senior BCCI official was asked about the interviews for the position, he said: “Obviously, Sunil Joshi has the best CV out of all the other candidates. In case of Nooshin, the BCCI is also going to have an elaborate women’s wing with dedicated staff for international, national and domestic age-group women’s cricketers.”
“While playing elite level does embellish the CV and Sunil is the only (men’s) Test cricketer among those who appeared for interview, his biggest plus is considerable experience in elite level coaching.
“He has coached multiple first-class teams, has been a part of IPL coaching set-up and also coached senior men’s international team. And don’t forget, he is from Bengaluru, which makes a lot of sense logistically,” he said.
But even Dhruv can’t be ruled out as he has played a lot of cricket for Saurashtra and Gujarat.
Most of the candidates were asked about their vision for the role.
The chosen candidate will be expected to not just provide technical insight to international stars like Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav or Washington Sundar but also work with a host of India A, India U-19 and top domestic performers.
The appointed coach will also create a synergy between state team coaches, and coordinate with national selectors for players’ preparation during return to play after recovery from injuries.
