West Indian Phil Simmons shortlisted for India coaching job

MUMBAI, India (CMC) — Former West Indies Head coach Phil Simmons is among six candidates shortlisted for the high profile position of India head coach.

The 56-year-old Trinidadian, who played 26 Tests and 143 One-Day Internationals for West Indies between 1987 and 1999, has been joined by former New Zealand coach, Mike Hesson; former Sri Lanka coach, Tom Moody; experienced T20 coach, Robin Singh; former India team manager, Lalchand Rajput; and current India head coach, Ravi Shastri.

The candidates will be interviewed on Friday by a three-member Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) which comprises former India cricketers Kapil Dev, Anshuman Gaekwad, and Shantha Rangaswamy.

“The board have finalised a list of six names based on their experience and qualifications for the post,” reports here quoted an Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) official as saying.

“All the six interviews will be held in Mumbai with different time slots for all the six candidates. The interviews will begin in the morning and will go on till 5:30 pm in the evening on August 16.”

Simmons was appointed West Indies head coach following the 2015 World Cup as a replacement for Barbadian and former West Indies fast bowler, Ottis Gibson.

However, he lasted a little more than a year before he was sacked six months after overseeing the Caribbean side’s dramatic capture from the 2016 T20 World Cup in India.

Cricket West Indies at the time cited “differences in culture and strategic approach” as the reason behind his sacking.

He successfully sued the governing body for damages and received a payout six months ago.

Simmons had previously spent eight years as Ireland’s coach and last month concluded a near two-year stint in charge of Afghanistan, overseeing their acquisition of Test status and their maiden appearance at the just-concluded ICC World Cup in England

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