Ravi Shastri most likely to be next India head coach

As the date for the selection of the next India head coach nears, it's becoming more and more likely that former captain and team director Ravi Shastri will scoop the job.Before Shastri had applied, Virender Sehwag and Tom Moody were the front-runners for the top job.

The interviews, which will be conducted by the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) comprising Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman, for the selection of the head coach will start in Mumbai at 1 pm India time on Monday, July 10.They were initially scheduled to start at 12:30 pm but Sachin Tendulkar, who is in London, had requested for an 8:30am start London time.

The clear message from the BCCI to the CAC is that the captain and the team should not find it difficult to work with the new coach. Considering the healthy relationship Shastri shared with Virat Kohli and rest of team member, the overwhelming support is in his favour even though Sehwag was asked to apply by BCCI members and continues to be the second favourite choice.

Kumble's one-year tenure came to a controversial end when he resigned following differences with skipper Virat Kohli. In a statement, hours after tendering his resignation, Kumble said he was told by the Indian board that Kohli was not satisfied with his 'style of coaching'.

Even before the Champions Trophy had started last month, reports of a rift between Kumble and Kohli had emerged in the media. Earlier, on May 25, the BCCI had invited applications for the position of the head coach - five candidates had been finalised - Tom Moody, Virender Sehwag, Richard Pybus, Lalchand Rajput and Dodda Ganesh. However, the BCCI invited fresh applications and the deadline was extended to July 9.