Mumbai, June 18 (IANS): The Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) of the BCCI on Tuesday interviewed two applicants for the post of head coach of the senior national men's team with former India opener WV Raman joining front-runner Gautam Gambhir as a candidate. The CAC comprising chairman Ashok Malhotra, Jatin Paranjape and Sulakshana Naik interacted with both Gambhir and Raman, listening to their vision for the team as its head coach.

“Apart from Gautam Gambhir, WV Raman was also there for an interview," a well-placed source in BCCI told IANS.

The source said while Gambhir attended the interview virtually from his home in Delhi, Raman made a well-designed presentation. "The CAC will interview one more candidate tomorrow who is an overseas candidate,” sources told IANS.

Gautam Gambhir has emerged as the frontrunner for the head coach's role after Rahul Dravid confirmed that he will not be reapplying for his current role past the T20 World Cup.

The former left-handed opener was the mentor for Kolkata Knight Riders during the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) season and helped the team lift the trophy for the third time and heavily impressed with his leadership skills.

Gambhir is likely to be the head coach for Team India and had a smooth meeting with the CAC, which included a discussion on the future of the Indian team.

The committee was heavily impressed with Raman’s presentation. There have been no updates as to who the overseas candidate is but is expected to be interviewed on Wednesday.