Shastri, Zaheer, Dravid form new Indian back room
Ravi Shastri was confirmed as the new head coach of the Indian cricket team on Tuesday, replacing Anil Kumble, with his contract set to run until the end of the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup.
At the same time, Zaheer Khan was appointed the team's bowling consultant, while Rahul Dravid was named batting consultant for overseas Test tours.
Shastri, the frontrunner for the position once he threw his hat into the ring, was chosen ahead of Virender Sehwag, Tom Moody, Richard Pybus and Lalchand Rajput, the other shortlisted candidates.
The decision came a day after the Cricket Advisory Committee, comprising Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar, interviewed applicants for the post before deferring the final decision until after a discussion with Virat Kohli, the all-format Indian captain.
Shastri, the former all-rounder who played 80 Tests and 150 One-Day Internationals, served as cricket manager for a brief period in 2007 after Greg Chappell’s tenure with the Indian team came to an end, and was then the team director from August 2014 until June 2016, when Kumble was appointed the head coach.
During Shastri’s second stint, India enjoyed considerable success, reaching the semi-finals of both the 2015 World Cup and the 2016 World Twenty20.
Zaheer, meanwhile, does not have any formal coaching experience but is known to have been of major help to younger bowlers when he led India's attack in the latter half of his career. In more recent times, he has captained Delhi Daredevils, where Dravid has been the mentor. Dravid, of course, has also been the India A and India Under-19 coach since July 2015.
Zaheer “is a contemporary cricketer who assumed the mentoring role to a young fast bowling unit even during his playing days with India. His inputs will be of immense value to our young fast bowlers, who have shown tremendous potential in the last couple of years,” said the Board of Control for Cricket in India in a statement.
“As the Indian team is to play Test cricket overseas in the next two years, Rahul Dravid’s expertise as batting consultant will be immensely helpful for youngsters.”
Unlike Sehwag, Moody, Rajput and Pybus, Shastri had not applied for the post when the BCCI invited applications in the last week of May after Kumble’s one-year contract expired.
However, once Kumble stepped down on June 20 saying that his partnership with Kohli was “untenable”, the BCCI invited fresh applications and Shastri made use of the extended deadline.
Once he joined the race, Shastri became the favourite, chiefly owing to his success as director and good working relationship with Kohli.
Shastri's first assignment will be the tour to Sri Lanka, comprising of three Tests, five One-Day Internationals and one T20 International, starting July 26.
