Donald enters frame for India bowling job

MS Dhoni's recent pleas for the bowling coach's position to be filled - it has been vacant since October - seem to have fallen on the right ears. The BCCI, it appears, has started work on replacing Venkatesh Prasad and has begun speaking to various people. Former South African fast bowler Allan Donald is among the contenders at this moment, and he has had informal discussions for the position.

Donald said the Indian board was yet to formally approach him, but he was keen to take up the offer. However, he said, officials involved in the recruitment process had told him during the discussions that things could take longer than expected for the BCCI to take a final decision. It is expected that it will try and fill the position before South Africa's tour of India in February.

"Yes, I had an informal chat during Champions League Twenty20 with an Indian board official," Donald told Cricinfo. "I would be interested to talk to the BCCI regarding the bowling coach job that is currently vacant and I'm keen [on the job]."

The official, who met Donald in October when he had come to India for a TV commentary assignment, wanted to check if the South African was open for a full-time role.

Another potential candidate is Shaun Pollock, who is a familiar figure in Indian cricket - he has a coaching role with Mumbai Indians in the IPL, and has worked in that capacity with Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh, among others. When contacted by Cricinfo, Pollock said he had no comment to make on the issue.

The position has been lying vacant since Venkatesh Prasad's sacking on October 15. The BCCI did not give any explanation for that decision but board sources said the slump in India's bowling since the ICC World Twenty20 was becoming a growing concern.

Donald, the first South African to take more than 300 Test wickets, has experience as a bowling coach - he took up the role in England for a short period in 2007. He then spent a year with Warwickshire as head coach but decided after the last season to give it up and spend more time with his family in South Africa.

That stint with Warwickshire brought Donald into contact with Sreesanth, who was on a two-month stint with the county as an overseas player. It was Donald who suggested Sreesanth might be ready for a return to international cricket. Though impressed by Sreesanth's talent, the straight-speaking Donald was critical of his training habits and said they needed to improve if he was to realise his full potential.