Gary Kirsten is reportedly the frontrunner to become England 's new head coach in Test cricket, having been approached by Managing Director of Men's Cricket Rob Key.
England have officially begun the recruitment process to find Chris Silverwood's successor, with the ECB advertising online for separate red and white ball head coaches. And Kirsten has been sounded out by Key over the red ball job.
According to a report from the Daily Mail, Kirsten has informed Key that he is 'available and interested' in the role, with discussions reaching 'a new level on Monday'. The report states he is in 'pole position' to get the job, although his current role as batting coach of IPL franchise Gujarat Titans could complicate things.
Although Kirsten is willing to give up the gig to take the England job, the current IPL season is not set to end until next month. The final is scheduled to take place on May 29, just four days before England's first Test of the summer against New Zealand at Lord's.
And with Gujarat currently second in the table, they are likely to reach the knockout stages and the report says Kirsten 'may insist on seeing out the remainder of the competition'.
The 54-year-old has previously coached both India and South Africa and was considered for the England job in both 2015 and 2019, losing out to Trevor Bayliss and then Silverwood. However, he publicly threw his hat in the ring for a third time during the Ashes, telling iNews : "Listen, it [the England job] is always a consideration because it’s a tremendous honour.
"I've walked this journey twice now and I've always made it clear that I would never commit to doing all formats. And when international cricket boards get their head around the fact that they need to split coaching roles, then it becomes a consideration.
"Listen, the England ODI side is set up, you're the best ODI side in the world at the moment. It's a project that has been well thought out, you've got consistency in the players that have been picked.
"Your Test side has battled for a while but it would be a really lovely project to get that going. It [England] is an interesting one. I think it's a great project for someone to come in and take that Test side on. There's a lot that needs to be put in place to build this Test team out."
