Whoever is responsible (read, the BCCI honchos) for the way the latest hunt for the next Indian coach was handled needs to be sacked immediately. It is not yet clear exactly why Graham Ford rejected the offer but the manner in which the BCCI and its seven-man committee have gone about selecting the coach has been just plain shameful. A brief summary of the timeline:



April 4th -- Chappell quits.


April 4th -- Whatmore announces his interest.


May 20th -- BCCI speaks to Whatmore.


June 3rd -- Ford expresses interest.


June 4th -- Whatmore out of favor because he is "too keen".


June 5th -- Emburey becomes a contender.


June 9th -- Ford and Emburey give their presentations. Ford is finally offered the role.


June 11th -- Ford rejects the offer.



Notice that there was no formal announcement or advertisement made by the BCCI that they were looking for a coach. There was the stop-gap arrangement with Shastri for the Bngladesh tour. But, ofcourse it is not in the BCCI's interest to arrange for the coach ASAP even with the ODI series with SA and England tour coming up from June 23rd!! Yes, the BCCI may just kindly allow the coach to pack his suitcases in time before the flight to Ireland and England. The BCCI is the filthy rich emperor that likes to give orders from its throne. People should come begging to the emperor and ask him whether they should formally submit an application and ask details of the process. Then, the emperor will make an offer that cannot be refused to one candidate: Dance according to the emperor's tunes for a fat sum of money...coaching and other responsibilities can take a back seat. All hail the emperor for bringing prosperity to the kingdom of Indian cricket!