CHENNAI: On a day when the BCCI advertised for the support staff of Team India, incumbent head coach Ravi Shastri is understood to be keen on continuing the role, meaning he will get a direct entry into the final shortlist. While there were indications that Shastri might wait till the completion of the limited-overs leg of the tour of West Indies before taking a final call, sources close to him confirmed he very much remains in contention.
The tenure of India’s support staff ended with the World Cup, but given that the tour of West Indies is lined up soon after, the Committee of Administrators running the BCCI gave an extension till the completion of that series. On Tuesday, the BCCI formally put out an advertisement on its website for the role of head coach, batting coach, bowling coach, fielding coach, administrative manager, physiotherapist and strength and conditioning coach.
Among these positions, the team will definitely get new ones for the last two as Patrick Farhart and Shankar Basu have decided not to continue their association with the team for personal reasons. The future of Sunil Subramaniam, who became the first manager to be appointed on a permanent basis, is unclear.
But regardless of all this, all eyes were on whether Shastri will once again be in contention. While India lost only two of their matches in the World Cup — both to the finalists — the semifinal exit was a hard pill to swallow for the team, especially given the fact how close they went after finding themselves at 5/3.
Over the past weekend, there were indications from Shastri’s camp that he was having a rethink with regards to continuing in his role as he hasn’t been able to take the team past the semifinals in each of the three ICC events — 2015 World Cup, 2016 WT20 and 2019 World Cup — he was involved in. There were also feelers that in such a case, assistant coach Sanjay Bangar may throw his hat around for the position of head coach, but there seems to be no room for such a scenario as of now.
This puts Shastri in a strong position to continue as head coach till November 24, 2021, as he also has a strong backing of captain Virat Kohli. Even performance-wise, India, across all formats have been ranked No 1, although they lost the position in ODIs alone to England. Under Shastri’s second tenure as coach, Kohli & Co played 20 Tests, winning 10 and losing seven — all away but went on to become the first Indian side to win a Test series on Australian soil. But away defeats in South Africa and England drew criticism from several quarters.
In ODIs, they won 42 out of the 58 matches, including maiden away series win in South Africa, series win in Australia and New Zealand. They also claimed the Asia Cup, where they were unbeaten.In T2OIs, India won 22 out of the 33 matches under his tenure, making him one of the most successful coaches of recent eras. Those who would like to challenge Shastri & Co have to send their applications on or before 5 PM on July 30. Following which, an ad-hoc Cricket Advisory Committee to be named by the CoA will interview the candidates and announce a head coach by September 3. If Shastri does continue, Bangar (assistant), Bharathi Arun (bowling) and R Sridhar (fielding) will continue in their respective roles.
Meanwhile, the selectors will meet in Mumbai on July 19 to pick the limited-overs squads for the tour of West Indies. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami stand a good chance of missing the limited-overs leg. While there were reports suggesting that Kohli too may opt out of the series, sources in the team management revealed there has been no request from his end, and the captain might indeed take the flight given it is India’s first series after the World Cup.
Shikhar Dhawan and Vijay Shankar, who had to leave the World Cup mid-way because of injuries, are unlikely to be fit in time for the T20s against West Indies. It is understood that going forward, the all-rounder might feature in red ball plans given Hardik Pandya’s fitness issues.
Shastri’s tenure
1st stint, team director (Aug 2014 to April 2016)
Returned to the fold after India’s 1-3 Test drubbing against England in 2014. Was made team director, with Duncan Fletcher serving as head coach.
They got off to a good start as India won the ODIs against England 3-1, before losing the one-off T20I. India then beat WI 2-1 & whitewashed SL 5-0.
India then lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2-0 Down Under. They failed to win a single match against Australia and England.
Dhoni’s team, however, stepped up for the 2015 World Cup to reach semifinals.
Fletcher’s contract ended, but Shastri stayed on as team director. India went on with no head coach.
In June 2015, India suffered a disappointing 2-1 ODI series loss against Bangladesh away from home.
Shastri wasn’t part of the coaching staff as India toured Zimbabwe next. He returned for the away Test series against Sri Lanka, which India won 2-1: their first series win in the longest format on Sri Lankan soil since 1993.
South Africa toured India next and won the T20I and ODI series before the hosts fought back and claimed the Test series 3-0.
In January 2016, India toured Australia again and lost the one-dayers 4-1. But they whitewashed Aussies 3-0 in T20Is. They then beat Sri Lanka 2-1 in T20I series at home and claimed Asia Cup, winning all five matches.
The World T20, where hosts India lost to West Indies in the semifinal, was Shastri’s last assignment. He later applied for the vacant head coach position but BCCI opted for Anil Kumble.
2nd stint, head coach(July 2017 till present)
After a fallout between Kohli and Kumble, Shastri was appointed head coach in July 2017. In his first assignment, India blanked hosts Sri Lanka 3-0.
They again beat Sri Lanka 1-0 when they hosted them for a three-match Test series. But lost Freedom Trophy in South Africa 2-1. After beating Afghanistan in their maiden Test, at home, they lost 1-4 to England.
India then beat West Indies 2-0 at home before registering a historic 2-1 win over Australia Down Under.
In ODIs, India won six bilateral ODI series, including a 5-1 away win over Proteas. Their winning streak was ended when they lost to England 1-2.
They went on to defend Asia Cup and beat West Indies at home. They also won the ODI series in Australia 2-1, followed by another 4-1 win in New Zealand, before losing 2-3 to Aussies at home just before World Cup.
During Shastri’s regime, India also won T20I series in Sri Lanka, South Africa, Ireland and England. They also won Nidahas Trophy in Sri Lanka.
But India lost the last two T20I series, defeated by hosts New Zealand 1-2 followed by a 0-2 loss against Australia at home.
Shastri’s team were one of the favourites for the 2019 World Cup in England and lived up to their billing by topping the table after the round-robin stage . But Virat Kohli & Co were stunned by New Zealand in the semifinal.
Eligibility criteria
Head coach
Batting, bowling & fielding coach