India great and junior coach Rahul Dravid will need to apply for the post of head coach at the National Cricket Academy after the Board of Control for Cricket in India on Saturday decided to invite fresh applications, PTI reported.

Dravid, who is already in charge of India A and the U-19 team, is the front-runner for the job. “A transparent application process will be followed like it is the case now with all BCCI jobs,” a BCCI official was quoted as saying after a Committee of Administrators meeting in New Delhi.

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“Dravid is obviously a favourite for the role as he is already in charge of the junior national teams.”

While COO Toofan Ghosh will be taking care of the administrative work at NCA in Bengaluru, the head coach will be responsible for a complete revamp which will include hiring of fresh coaching staff at all levels, besides monitoring the upcoming generation of cricketers.

Dravid will need to apply for the job as BCCI has done away with the practice of direct appointments. India head coach Ravi Shastri will also have to reapply for the job once his tenure ends after the World Cup beginning in the UK next month.

Earlier this year, former India opener Vikram Rathour’s direct appointment as the batting coach of India A and U-19 team was stalled after a conflict of interest case was brought to the notice of the CoA. Rathour is the brother-in-law of current India U-19 national selector Ashish Kapoor.