Staying with the tradition of the last few months, BCCI’s appointment of the next Indian coach too was a dragged-out controversy that lasted two whole days.
At the end of it all though, we can now officially confirm, Ravi Shastri is indeed the new coach of the Indian cricket team. The official confirmation has been made by the BCCI in a press release which also adds two big names to the Indian back-room. Zaheer Khan has been brought on as the team’s new bowling consultant and India-A and Under-19 coach Rahul Dravid has been named the batting consultant for overseas Tests.
The excess use of the word “official” above is because just this evening, news outlets reported that Ravi Shastri had indeed been appointed Anil Kumble’s replacement. However, not long after, BCCI Secretary Amitabh Chaudhary announced at the board headquarters that no such decision had been made, adding that “The CAC is still deliberating over it”. As of 10:58pm on Tuesday the board, well, officially, announced Ravi Shastri as the pick for the next Indian Head Coach.
Read: Dravid Named Overseas Batting Consultant, Zaheer is Bowling Coach
Shastri’s appointment ends months of controversy, sparked by reports of discontent in the Indian dressing room with previous coach Anil Kumble. While the BCCI’s Cricket Advisory Committee tried to placate both parties, Kumble resigned from the post after the Champions Trophy, leaving the door open for Shastri’s appointment.
The decision however was expected to be delivered by Sourav Ganguly at the BCCI’s CAC’s press conference on Monday. But after interviewing the five candidates, the three-member panel said the final announcement would only be made after consultation with skipper Virat Kohli.
24 hours clearly seem to be enough time to make a phone call and now, Shastri has been brought on board on a two year contract, leading up to the 2019 ICC World Cup. His first assignment now will be the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka in which India travel to the neighbouring nation for a 3 Test, 5 ODI and 1 T20 series, starting 26 July.
Also Read: Ravi Shastri’s No “Yes Man”, Has Best Attributes to be India Coach
A veteran of 80 Tests and 150 One-Day Internationals (ODI), the 55-year-old Shastri had earlier served as the Team Director for India's tour of England in 2014 to the 2016 World T20, where India lost to the eventual champions West Indies.
Read: Flashback: India’s Highs in Ravi Shastri’s Tenure as Team Director
He was overlooked last year as the CAC went ahead and picked Anil Kumble for a one-year term, that ended on a controversial note after the recently-concluded ICC Champions Trophy, last month.
The former India opener had initially not applied for the top post but when the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) extended the deadline for acceptance of applications till July 9, the former all-rounder jumped into the fray and suddenly became the hot favourite, given his cordial relations with Kohli.
Besides Shastri, the CAC had on Monday interviewed four other candidates – Virender Sehwag, Tom Moody, Richard Pybus and Lalchand Rajput. Former West Indies coach Phil Simmons wasn't available for the interview process.
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