Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has pushed himself forward to become the next coach of the national side, telling cricket chiefs that next time they should turn to a home-grown candidate. The Zimbabwean Duncan Fletcher, who took over from South Africa's Gary Kirsten last year, has been under pressure after heavy Test series defeats against England and Australia.
A poor showing in this month's T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka could make his position untenable. Ganguly backed Fletcher to continue in the hot seat but said he would be ready to fill the job whenever a vacancy occurred. "If the BCCI (Indian cricket board) feels that I can be a good coach, I will be ready," he told the Hindi news channel Aaj Tak. "I feel I can create a difference in terms of the ability of the players, their form and their development. That will be one way of my repaying the game." Ganguly has carved out a career as a TV pundit since retiring from the international game in 2008 after a falling-out with former coach Greg Chappell, the former Australian skipper.