Coach Shastri & Team to Get 45-Day Extension After World Cup

The decision was taken by the Supreme Court-appointed CoA and was uploaded in the minutes on BCCI’s website.

The Indian support staff’s contract ends after the 2019 World Cup.

(Photo: PTI)

The Indian coaching staff, including chief coach Ravi Shastri, will be handed a 45-day extension after the ongoing World Cup even though their contract ends with the showpiece event.

Besides Shastri, the support staff also includes assistant coach Sanjay Bangar, bowling coach Bharat Arun and fielding coach R. Sridhar. The decision was taken by the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) and was uploaded in the minutes on BCCI's website.

“After some discussion, the CoA decided that the contracts for the support staff can be extended by 45 days on an ad-hoc basis and that interviews of the support staff should be conducted after the World Cup,” the minutes read.

"As the Cricket Advisory Committee's (CAC) involvement is required for the purpose of selecting a head coach, the BCCI management should speak to the members of the CAC and ascertain what is their expectation vis-a-vis remuneration/compensation for their services and a draft of the terms of reference for the CAC should be prepared and circulated for CoA's consideration," it added.

CAC members Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and V.V.S. Laxman had made it clear to BCCI ombudsman D.K. Jain that they were not aware of their exact role and scope. In fact, they also made it clear that if a question of conflict arises due to their IPL roles, they were happy to stay away from functioning as CAC members.

But Clause 24 (5) of the new BCCI constitution says that while the CEO will appoint team officials for the Indian teams, the head coach of each team shall be appointed by the CAC. So, the CoA needs to find a quick solution.