Virat had his say as Ravi Shastri made new Indian Cricket team coach

Samarth Srivastava
Published on: 11 July 2017 4:42 PM GMT
Virat had his say as Ravi Shastri made new Indian Cricket team coach
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Virat had his say as Ravi Shastri made new Indian Cricket team coach

New Delhi: Putting at rest all the speculation, former Indian cricketer Ravi Shastri on Tuesday has been appointed as coach of Indian Cricket team till 2019 World Cup.

Former Indian pacer Zaheer Khan has been appointed as India's bowling coach while Rahul Dravid has been named as overseas batting coach.

"Ravi Shastri appointed next coach of team India and Zaheer Khan will be bowling coach. Rahul Dravid appointed as overseas batting coach. Tenure of trio will last till 2019 World Cup," CK Khanna, acting President, BCCI said.

Ravi Shastri's tenure will commence with upcoming India's tour of Sri Lanka where Virat Kohli will lead 16-member squad for three Tests, five ODIs and one-off T20.

The decision was announced by the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) comprising former captains Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and veteran batting star V.V.S. Laxman on Tuesday, after the BCCI's Committee of Administrators (CoA) directed it to consult skipper Virat Kohli and announce the name of the coach at the earliest.

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.

Shastri 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.

Shastri 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.

Shastri had earlier served as the Team Director before Anil Kumble was appointed in 2016 the head coach for a year. Shastri's tenure as team India director was from 2014 to mid-2016.

Also read: BCCI’s committee concludes deliberations on coach, holds back name

Earlier, BCCI’s Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) on Monday concluded formalities with regards to selection of new coach of Indian cricket team but deferred the announcement of the name.

Samarth Srivastava

Samarth Srivastava

Employed as sub-editor at newstrack.com. A learner, who loves covering sports, entertainment and defence kind of stuff.

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