With Rahul Dravid's tenure slated to end after June's ICC T20 World Cup 2024 in the USA and West Indies, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday (May 13, 2024) invited applications for the role of Team India's head coach for a duration of three and a half years. (Full IPL Coverage | More Cricket News)
The board mentioned in a press release that the deadline to submit applications is May 27, 2024. "The selection process will include a thorough review of applications, followed by personal interviews and assessments of shortlisted candidates," the release stated.
The new coach will take charge of the team from July 1, soon after the T20 World Cup concludes, and their term will end on December 31, 2027.
The BCCI added that the men's head coach candidate should be below 60 years of age and should either have played a minimum of 30 Tests or 50 ODIs, or been a head coach of a full-member Test nation for at least two years.
BCCI secretary Jay Shah had recently said that Dravid will have to re-apply if he wants to continue in the top job after the T20 World Cup. "Rahul Dravid's tenure is coming to an end. He has to reapply if he has to continue. We are looking for a long-term coach, for three years," Shah had told the media in an interaction.
Dravid has already served in the role since November 2021. His two-year contract had ended with the 2023 ODI World Cup at home, but was extended considering the paucity of time to pick a new coach ahead of India's tour of South Africa and the T20 World Cup.
The new coach will have some critical assignments on their plate, beginning with the away white-ball series in Sri Lanka in July. There will be two home Test series against Bangladesh and New Zealand, before the team travels to Australia for the high-octane Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
The Champions Trophy in Pakistan will then follow in 2025, in addition to a tour of England. The following year, India and Sri Lanka will together host the T20 World Cup and the 50-over World Cup is also on the anvil in 2027 in South Africa.
Another major challenge in front of the coach will be the potential transition from batting titans Virat Kohli and incumbent captain Rohit Sharma, who are aged 35 and 37 years respectively and could well retire in the period.
