'Only CAC will pick India's coach, Kohli entitled to his opinion': Shantha Rangaswamy

New Delhi: As captain Virat Kohli is entitled to his opinion but Shantha Rangaswamy on Thursday said the next India head coach will be picked based only on the collective opinion of the three-member Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) of which she is a part.

The other CAC members are Kapil Dev and Anshuman Gaekwad. The same panel had also picked the Indian women's coach in December.

Ahead of the team's departure to the United States, Kohli had said that he would be very happy if incumbent Ravi Shastri continues following the West Indies tour.

"Virat is the captain and he is entitled to his opinion but it will be the collective opinion of the three of us (CAC) which will determine who the next head coach is," former India women's captain Rangaswamy told PTI.

"I read some media reports and I endorse Anshuman's view on the matter. We need to look at all aspects -- his experience, the ability to bring the team together and how a good a strategist one is," she said.

Gaekwad told PTI that the CAC is neutral and goes into the process with an open mind.

"The totality of that will be considered and individuals don't matter, it is the collective opinion which will weigh in determining who the head coach is," she added.

With Kohli's public backing, Shastri has emerged as the favourite for the job. The others who are in the race are Australian Tom Moody and former India internationals Lalchand Rajput and Robin Singh.

The application deadline ended on Tuesday and the CAC is expected to conduct interviews of the shortlisted candidates mid-August.

While Kohli expressing his preference when the selection process is on has been questioned by some, a few others including Sourav Ganguly feel that the Indian captain has every right to voice his opinion.