While a majority of India players took it easy in Antigua on Tuesday morning — a day after the three-day warm-up game ahead of the first Test — most of the support staff members spent a hectic morning, staking a claim for retention in an interview with the national selection panel. Sanjay Bangar, the batting coach for five years, would have been the most anxious of the lot.
Bangar interacted with M.S.K. Prasad & Co., who sat at the BCCI headquarters, through video-conferencing. While Bangar’s record — along with his fellow-assistant coaches, B. Arun for bowling and R. Sridhar for fielding — is impeccable, there are murmurs of a push for a change from a camp in the India dressing room.
Intriguing
It was intriguing that Ravi Shastri, a day after being reappointed as the head coach last week, didn’t even make a mention of Bangar in an interview while highlighting the achievements of Arun and Sridhar. Shastri is also understood to have made a strong pitch for a change in batting coach — and preferred an Indian for the role — during his interaction with the Cricket Advisory Committee last week.
However, it will be interesting to see if the selection panel decides to look beyond Bangar for a possible replacement from a dozen other candidates. The Hindu understands that whether to opt for a new batting coach will be finalised after Prasad’s informal discussion with captain Kohli. Despite Shastri’s reservation about him, Kohli has established an excellent rapport with Bangar.
Front-runner
If the selectors decide for a change in guard, Vikram Rathour, the former India opener, will be the front-runner, with Mumbai stalwart Amol Muzumdar likely to be an underdog. The duo was also interviewed last month for the National Cricket Academy batting coach position in Bengaluru.
Despite a question mark over Rathour’s alleged conflict of interest due to his family relations with India U-19 chief selector Aashish Kapoor, Rathour is a top contender for the India job.
The selectors interacted with Sridhar and Jonty Rhodes via video-link, while India-A fielding coach Abhay Sharma and former Pakistan and Bangladesh fielding coach Julien Fountain appeared in person.
Physios and trainers will be interviewed on Wednesday and Thursday is reserved for the administrative manager’s post.
