Delhi: Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Secretary Jay Shah has confirmed that the board has not offered any Australian cricketer the job of coach of the Indian senior men's cricket team.

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Jay Shah told reporters on Friday, “Neither I nor the BCCI have approached any former Australian cricketer with a coaching offer. The news circulating in some sections of the media is completely false.”

He further added, “Finding the right coach for our national team is a delicate and intense process. We are focused on identifying individuals who have a deep understanding of the Indian cricket structure and it is important that our coach has a deep knowledge of our domestic cricket structure to take the team to the next level.”

Shah's statement comes after former Australia captain Ricky Ponting's claim that some BCCI officials had approached him for the role of Team India's head coach.

Ponting told ICC Review, “I have seen a lot of reports about it. Usually these things come out on social media when you don't even know about them, but there were some face-to-face conversations during the IPL, so that my level of interest could be known whether I would do it or not.”

He further said, “I would love to become the senior coach of the national team, but I have other things in my life and I want to spend some time at home. Everyone knows that if you work with the Indian team, you cannot join the IPL team. Also, the job of national head coach is for 10 or 11 months a year and as much as I would like to do it, it does not suit my current lifestyle and the things I enjoy doing.”

Who will become the next head coach of the Indian team?

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) invited applications for the post of head coach through social media on May 13, the last date for which is May 27. Rahul Dravid's tenure as head coach will end after the ICC T20 World Cup 2024. It is being claimed in the ports that Gautam Gambhir's name is at the forefront for this post.

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