The formal process to name Gautam Gambhir as the new Team India head coach began on Tuesday with the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) members, led by Ashok Malhotra, interviewing the former India opener on Zoom.

Jatin Paranjape and Sulakshana Naik are the other members of the CAC and the interview lasted for more than 30 minutes. A second round of conversation could take place on Wednesday.

Another former India opener, WV Raman, also appeared before the CAC. Raman has previously served as the women’s team head coach. A few more applicants, including an overseas candidate, will be interviewed on Wednesday.

Both the candidates were probed by the CAC members before they made their presentations on their vision and roadmap for the team.

Gambhir’s appointment is a mere formality after the BCCI made it clear that they were interested in having the Kolkata Knight Riders’ mentor on board and secretary Jay Shah spoke to him in Chennai after the conclusion of the IPL final last month.

Dravid has announced that he’s not willing to continue. The new head coach’s tenure will run till 2027. His term will include three ICC tournaments — the Champions Trophy, T20 World Cup and ODI World Cup.

The new head coach’s stint will be crucial since it is likely to involve the phasing out of some of the seniors of the team. The BCCI bigwigs are of the opinion that Gambhir is the best person to handle this transition.

Sources told The Telegraph that Gambhir stressed the need to have a separate set of players for Tests and limited-overs formats, including different captains, during the presentation of his blueprint to the CAC.

Raman’s presentation is learnt to have been “very impressive and thorough”, according to a BCCI official.

While Gambhir should take over from next month, it is the appointment of his support staff which is attracting more eyeballs. Gambhir will be given full independence to choose his ‘team’ but there is a school of thought that current batting coach Vikram Rathour, bowling coach Paras Mhambrey and fielding coach T. Dilip have done exceedingly well to retain their berths.

However, there is talk that Jonty Rhodes, who has worked with Gambhir at Lucknow Super Giants, could replace Dilip as the fielding coach. The BCCI has maintained a stoic silence and has left it to Gambhir.

The CAC will also decide on the selector from North Zone to replace Salil Ankola. Mithun Manhas is the front-runner. In the current set-up, both Ajit Agarkar and Ankola are from the West Zone. While the new BCCI constitution doesn’t say that the selectors have to be from different zones, BCCI wants North’s representation on the selection panel.

The Board’s apex council is scheduled to meet next week where the members are expected to be briefed by secretary Jay Shah before the final announcement.