Shastri recently ended his coaching tenure with Team India.
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri's much-awaited return to the commentary box will not happen in the home series against West Indies as his name does not feature in the list of commentators finalized by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for the ODIs and T20Is.
According to a report in Times of India, BCCI has shortlisted seven commentators Sunil Gavaskar, L Sivaramakrishnan, Harsha Bhogle, Deep Dasgupta, Murali Kartik, Ajit Agarkar and West Indies' Ian Bishop. Sivaramakrishnan will not be part of the commentary team for the T20I series.
Ahmedabad will host the three ODIs from February 6 to 11, while Kolkata will hosts the T20Is from February 16 to 20 after the schedule was revised due to COVID-19 concerns.
Shastri is currently in Oman as a ambassador of the Legends League Cricket tournament and is not expected to return to commentary for the next home series against Sri Lanka as well. He has made no official comments on the same.
“He has taken a conscious decision not to take up commentary immediately, at least till the IPL. He has a lot on the table and for two more months he will remain busy. He will think over it after that,” a source close to him told Times of India.
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Shastri was a renowned name in the world of cricket commentary before he left it to join the Indian team, first as director and then as head coach. He ended his coaching tenure with the national side after the conclusion of the T20 World Cup, which was hosted by India in UAE.
The 59-year-old former cricketer was expected to return to the commentary box almost immediately, but has so far held his cards close to his chest on what will be his next role in cricket.