NEW DELHI – Australian leg-spin legend Shane Warne has shown interest in coaching World Cup champions India, local media reported on Wednesday.
“It is a very difficult job to be India coach, it is never easy,” Warne was quoted as saying in the Mail Today newspaper.
“But with India doing so well, it is a lot easier to take over right now than it has been in the past. I’ll enjoy working with the Indian cricket team for sure.”
Warne is in the country to take part in the Indian Premier League where he leads the Rajasthan Royals franchise in the cash-rich Twenty20 competition, starting on Friday.
India are without a coach after former South African batsman Gary Kirsten stepped down following the World Cup victory in Mumbai last week.
Warne said Kirsten had set high benchmarks during a successful three-year stint with Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s team.
“Kirsten is a quality person and it would be hard to find a replacement for him. Under him, the Indian team has reached the number one spot in Tests and won the World Cup,” said Warne, 41.”He is a fantastic coach.”
Warne, who quit international cricket in 2007 with 708 wickets in Tests and 293 in one-dayers, has already excelled as captain-cum-coach when he guided the Rajasthan Royals to a surprise title win in the inaugural IPL edition in 2008.
