World Cup-winning hero Mohinder Amarnath and former Test player Sandeep Patil emerged the latest contenders, as the Board of Control for Cricket in India shortlisted four candidates on Sunday for the post of Indian team coach and announced that a final decision would be made by June 15.
BCCI president Ranbir Singh Mahendra, however, said efforts are on to get in touch with 2-3 other former internationals from abroad before the final selection is made.
"You will get to know the name of the new coach by June 15," he said, briefing newspersons on the deliberations of the two-hour meeting of the six-member committee.
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Along with Amarnath and Patil, former Australia Test players Greg Chappell and Tom Moody were also shortlisted in the maiden meeting of the committee, chaired by Mahendra at a five-star hotel in Kolkata.
But Mahendra refused to divulge the names of the other internationals the BCCI is planning to sound out before making its choice.
The high-profile committee comprises Mahendra, former India captains Sunil Gavaskar, S Venkataraghavan, Ravi Shastri and ex-BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya, with Board secretary S
K Nair as convenor.
The new coach would be in the saddle at least till the next World Cup in the West Indies in 2007, Mahendra said.
Replying to a query, he said the committee shortlisted the four names after taking into consideration the candidates' bio-data and performance as coach in the past.
The BCCI chief said though neither Amarnath nor Patil submitted a bio-data, the Board decided to call them for the interview because of their record as coaches.
Amarnath, famed for his delightful hook shots besides bagging the man of the match awards in both the semi-final and final of the 1983 World Cup, where India's success story has become a part of the country's sporting folk-lore, earlier coached Bangladesh and Morocco.
Patil, a flashy batsman and a key member of the 1983 squad, is a former coach of the Indian team. He also coached Kenya to the World Cup semi-finals in 2003 and was in charge of the India-A side.
Mahendra said the committee also considered other former India cricketers who had coaching stints.
Chappell, one of the greatest batsmen from Down Under, has a very impressive Test average of 53.86, besides taking 47 wickets.
Compared to the other three, Moody had a lacklustre Test career, scoring only 456 runs in eight Tests. However, he was more successful in the shorter version of the game, and represented his country in two World Cups.
Moody, armed with a Level four coaching certificate, is Director of Cricket of Worcestershire for the last four years, and has worked with different age group trainees in the Australian Cricket Academy.
