When BCCI stumped Gary Kirsten with a 7-minute interview

He was never interested in coaching neither did he apply for the job, but it took exactly seven minutes for Gary Kirsten to land the high-profile India coach’s job back in 2007, a process set in motion by the great Sunil Gavaskar.

Speaking on the ‘Cricket Collective’ podcast, Kirsten recalled the “bizarre” series of events that unfolded in 2007.

Kirsten said he went for the interview on the invitation of Gavaskar, who was part of the coach selection panel, and ended up with the job after being offered his predecessor Greg Chappell’s contract.

“I got an email from Sunil Gavaskar — would I consider coaching the Indian team,” Kirsten recalled.

“I thought it was a hoax. I never even answered it. He sent me another email, and said, ‘Will you come for an interview?’ I showed it to my wife, and she said, ‘They must have the wrong person’. So it was a bizarre entry into the whole thing, and rightly so. I mean, I had no coaching experience or anything,” he said.

Kirsten said when he landed in India for the interview, a chance meeting with the then captain Anil Kumble had them both laughing at the prospect of him being in contention for the position.

“I went for the interview, it was a bizarre experience in many ways because I kind of arrived at the interview and I see Anil Kumble, who’s the current Indian captain, and he says, ‘What are you doing here?’ I said, ‘I have come for an interview to coach you!’.

Even though he didn’t have any coaching experience then, Kirsten went on to become one of the most successful India coaches of all time, guiding the team to the top of the Test rankings in 2009, and then to the World Cup title two years later.

Kirsten said it was Ravi Shastri, who was in the selection panel at that time, who broke the ice.

After that, Kirsten said all it took was seven minutes to get the nod.