BCCI puts off coach selection meeting

The BCCI puts off its scheduled meeting of the coach selection committee from November 3 to a future unspecified date.

The Cricket Board has put off its scheduled meeting of the coach selection committee from November 3 to a future unspecified date.

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"Sunil Gavaskar is not available on that day and we had to postpone the meeting until further notice," said BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah in Mumbai on Wednesday.

However, another BCCI source revealed that the absence of a suitable candidate from the list of persons who have approached the Board as the prospective national coach was the main reason for the postponement of the meeting.

"Where's the candidate even if Sunil was available," the source wondered, and said if a coach is not found before the Test series against Pakistan then cricket manager Lalchand Rajput was likely to continue in that capacity.

"We may continue with Lalchand Rajput as cricket manager," said the source. Rajput has been appointed as the manager till the end of the five-match ODI series against Pakistan starting on November 5 at Guwahati.

Meanwhile, the meeting of the National Cricket Academy will be held as scheduled here on November 3, according to Shah.

"Dav Whatmore has given us a long list of proposals and these would be discussed," said Shah.

Australian Whatmore, a former Test cricketer and ex-coach of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, has taken over as NCA's director of cricket operations.

Ravi Shastri, the new chairman of the Bangalore-based NCA, will also be attending the meeting, Shah said.