Phil Simmons throws his hat in ring for India coach role; unnamed 'South African legend' expresses interest

Former West Indian opener Phil Simmons has emerged as the latest candidate to throw his hat in the ring for the role of India coach. According to a report in Mumbai Mirror, Simmons is the newest entrant in the fray for the lucrative coach’s role. The report added that a “South African legend” had also made enquiries about the post. [caption id=“attachment_3769873” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Phil Simmons. Reuters[/caption] While the coach’s role has so far been touted as a toss-up between Ravi Shastri and Virender Sehwag, the dynamics of the selection may have changed due to the entry of Simmons, who has had two stints with Windies besides coaching Ireland and Zimbabwe. He was also a consultant for Afghanistan. Simmons’ credentials as coach are impeccable, with the 54-year-old having guided Ireland to the 2011 and 2015 World Cups during an eight-year stint, where he also oversaw wins over Test nations like England, Windies and Zimbabwe. Simmons quit the Ireland job in 2015 to take up the Windies coach’s role where he led them to a World T20 title. However, he was sacked by the West Indies Cricket Board in September 2016 due to “differences in culture and strategic approach”. The deadline to apply for the India role, which has been reopened in a bid to seek more applications after Anil Kumble stepped down, has been set as 9 July. The former leg-spinner stepped down after a bitter rift with India captain Virat Kohli over his style of working. During the first window to apply for the post, the Board of Control for Cricket in India had also received applications from Tom Moody, Lalchand Rajput, Richard Pybus and Dodda Ganesh apart from Shastri and Sehwag.