Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) mentor Gautam Gambhir is one step closer to becoming the head coach of the Indian men’s cricket team after initial discussions with Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah. Gambhir, who as a mentor led KKR to their third Indian Premier League IPL) title on Sunday (May 26) could take over the reins of the side after the T20 World Cup as the BCCI is in no rush to announce Rahul Dravid’s successor.

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So what do we know of Gambhir for India coach?

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KKR co-owner Shahrukh Khan is aware of the meetings held with Gambhir by Jay Shah and will not stand in the way if the former decides to go. According to reports, Gambhir is also interested in the role but wants to be assured of how much control he will have over the team. According to Cricbuzz, both Shah and Gambhir held talks on Monday and Tuesday and want the latter to accept the proposal.

Who else is in the race to become the coach?

It is reported that, since the advertisement for the new head coach came out, over 3000 applications have been received by the BCCI. Current head coach Rahul Dravid has not applied for the role again after the May 27 deadline. Therefore, Dravid won’t take charge of the side post-T20 World Cup unless there is an emergency.

National Cricket Academy (NCA) chief VVS Laxman is another name in the hat but is reluctant to take charge. According to Laxman, he is unlikely to be available for the demanding nature of the job which includes staying with the team for 10 months.

While there have been applications in the name of Sourav Ganguly and Virender Sehwag, those are predicted to be fake.

Who is not in the race?

The likes of Ricky Ponting and Justin Langer were in the running to take charge of the Indian side at the start of the application process, However, Jay Shah has ruled out any such possibility and wants to appoint an Indian coach. Both Ponting and Langer were part of the IPL rosters of Delhi Capitals and Lucknow Super Giants during the recently concluded season.

Chennai Super Kings head coach, Stephen Fleming is also not part of the conversation despite talks of MS Dhoni being part of the negotiation process.

As things stand, Gambhir remains the front-runner for the job with BBCI now in advance talks with the former World Cup winner.

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