Dubai: Ravi Shastri, who had won acclaim for transforming Team India into a winning unit during the ICC World Cup 2015 after setbacks against Australia in the Test series as team director, has been retained in the same position.
Though there were speculations that Shastri may not take up the role again, the former Indian captain agreed to take up the post for the Bangladesh tour. The decision comes a day after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) appointed a three-member advisory panel made up of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman to lift the standard of Team India in international matches. Shastri is understood to have expressed his interest in the post only if it was a long-term one but agreed for the short-term assignment of one Test and three ODIs in Bangladesh.
Sanjay Bangar, Bharat Arun and R Sridhar who were part of the Team India’s world cup campaign will continue as assistant coaches for the tour.
The BCCI have informed that all long-term coaching appointments will be finalised only after consultation with the cricket advisory committee before India’s tour to Zimbabwe in July.
The advisory committee is likely to meet in Kolkata on June 6 and name the new coach. Interestingly, Shastri is also being considered for the role of coach. Two new names have come into the fray with former Sri Lanka coach Tom Moody and Royal Challengers Bangalore head coach Daniel Vettori being also considered for the post.
Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni seemed to have pushed the name of his Chennai Super Kings teammate Michael Hussey for the post. Moody, who is the coach of the Sunrisers Hyderabad team, is understood to have been pushed into the fray by Laxman who is the mentor of the Sunrisers team. Vettori has the backing of India’s One-day team captain Virat Kohli.
According to reports in Indian media, Rahul Dravid who was supposed to be one of the members of the advisory committee refused to join the group not wanting to be embroiled in controversies. He seems to have expressed his displeasure in working with Ganguly. Some feel that Dravid was not considered for the advisory committee as he has a reputation of being an N. Srinivasan, former BCCI President, supporter.
There was also speculation that Dravid might be considered for the coach’s post but the star batsman is understood to have turned down the offer.
Shastri has once again been named as Director due to his man management skills. He handled the Virat Kohli skirmish with a journalist and many controversial incidents during the ICC World Cup 2015 with tact. He also got along very well with Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. With Indian team needing a coach with man-management skills there are chance Shastri might be considered for the coach’s post. Tendulkar is also a huge supporter of Shastri.
