Ravi Shastri has retained his position as India's head coach and will be along with the team for the next two years.
The Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) on Friday (August 16) re-appointed Shastri as the chief coach, a decision that was expected and has the backing of captain Virat Kohli.
However, legendary India captain and CAC head Kapil Dev made it clear that Kohli was not consulted regarding the selection of the coach.
“Not at all, because if we take his (Kohli’s) views we would have taken the entire team’s views too. We haven’t asked anyone. There was no scope for that,” Kapil told reporters in Mumbai.
Addressing the media conference before departing for the West Indies tour last month, Kohli had said he would be happy to have Shastri at the helm of affairs after his extended tenure ends.
"With Ravi Bhai, we share a great camaraderie, and will definitely be very happy if he continues. But I haven't been contacted so far," the Indian captain had stated.
Team India performed exceptionally well under the first coaching stint of Shastri. They became the first Asian team to win a Test series on Australian soil earlier this year. The Men in Blue also retained the Asia Cup last year and also defeated South Africa in limited-overs cricket away from home. However, India failed to win a major ICC event under Shastri’s guidance.
Asked about India’s semi-final exit in the World Cup, Kapil said, “If any manager don’t win (a World Cup) with any team, they should be sacked? No, you look at overall picture and we are not looking at that, we are looking what presentation he has given, we have gone by that.”
Shastri was appointed as chief coach in July 2017 after Anil Kumble’s tenure ended prematurely in controversial circumstances. Under his stint, India won 13 out of 21 Tests, 43 out of 60 ODIs and 25 out of 36 T20Is.
Going by Kapil's statement, Shastri’s communication skills may have played a big part.
“All of them were excellent. Sometime I felt Shastri had more skills of communication, they may have felt differently but we didn’t discuss about that, we have given the marks after listening to their presentations.
“We all three have learnt so much, knowing how much hard work they have put in their presentation,” he said.
Shastri pipped Mike Hesson, Tom Moody, Mahela Jayawardene, Robin Singh and Lal Chand Rajput to retain this high-profile post.
Asked about the advantage Shastri had over others, CAC member Anshuman Gaekwad said: “Basically, being the current coach, knowing the boys well, knowing the problems well in the team and what needs to be done.
“I think he is well-versed with the entire system. If somebody knows the system, knows the players well and can communicate well, I think he has the advantage.”
(With PTI inputs)
