The BCCI president Anurag Thakur had announced on May 22 that the Board will advertise to fill the vacant position but it finally put out the invitation on Wednesday.
The contracts of India's coaching staff that comprised team director Ravi Shastri, batting coach Sanjay Bangar, bowling coach B Arun and fielding coach R Sridhar – since the ODI series in England in 2014 – had expired after the ICC World T20 in March.
Bangar, however, was appointed head coach for India's tour to Zimbabwe in June. Abhay Sharma, who recently worked with the India Under-19 and A teams, was named fielding coach for the tour.
The BCCI has laid down nine criteria that a successful candidate should fulfill. Here are they:
- "Should have successfully coached a cricket team of any of the member countries of the ICC, at the first class or at the International level."
- "It is preferred that the candidate should be qualified through a certification/assessment program conducted by any of the Full Member countries and currently possess such a valid certification.
- "Should be able to prepare and present a coaching plan elaborating the approach for 'Team India' to attain leadership position in all formats of the game.
- "Demonstrate methods/tools to effectively measure individual player performance and present metrics to the Board, which will in turn measure the performance of the team, on a consistent and timely basis.
- "Demonstrate an understanding and ability of employing a multi disciplinary approach that will include sports psychology and sports medicine, and effectively manage the work load of the players, thereby enhancing their contribution to the cause of the team.
- "Communication skills befitting the coach of an international team are mandatory along with the ability to effectively convey the right messages and must demonstrate proficiency in English. It is desirable to communicate in Hindi and other regional Indian languages.
- "Should be well versed with the latest technologies/trends in sports software and ability to utilise the same, which will assist in analysing/ improving the performance of the player and the team.
- "Mandatory that the candidate should have an impeccable personal record, devoid of any past or current disputes, with any of the member boards of the ICC or its affiliates.
- "Demonstrate plans and ability to contribute to the NCA Cricket Development Programmes and forecasting/planning to develop the next generation cricketer and agree to make themselves available for the NCA, as and when they are not with the team."