- Saturday, May 04, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
INDIAN cricket team’s support staff could be set for a transition as head coach Ravi Shastri, bowling coach Bharat Arun, fielding coach R Sridhar and batting coach Vikram Rathour will move on after the T20 World Cup to be held in the United Arab Emirates in October-November, reports said in the middle of a Test series between England and India.
Shastri, a former India all-rounder and part of the squad that won the 1983 World Cup in England, has reportedly informed some members of the Indian cricket board that he is planning to step down after the major tournament when his contract ends. Some of the other members of the support staff of the national team are already in talks with Indian Premier League (IPL) teams.
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Sources said the board, headed by former India captain Sourav Ganguly, also wants a new group.
Shastri, 57, took over the responsibility of the national team in 2014 as director till the T20 World Cup in 2016. After that, former India captain Anil Kumble replaced him. However, there were reports that things were not going well between Kumble and national captain Virat Kohli. The former leg-spinner’s appointment was also for a year but he stepped down from his post a few days short of a year after India lost the final of the 2017 Champions Trophy against arch-rivals Pakistan in England.
Shastri came back to become the coach and during his stint, India defeated Australia in back-to-back away series, reached the finals of the World Test Championships and the semi-finals of the ICC World Cup 2019.
Arun, on the other hand, has been instrumental in making India’s bowling attack one of the most formidable ones in the world. Sridhar has also made a remarkable contribution in making India one of the fittest and sturdiest fielding sides. Rathour joined the group in 2019.
While not being able to win an ICC trophy remained the low points during their stint, India produced some good performances at home and abroad at the same time, winning Test series in the West Indies and Sri Lanka besides beating South Africa and England in limited-over formats in their den.
At home, India beat strong teams Australia, England and South Africa and its reserve strength increased manifold. Recently, it sent two national teams to Sri Lanka and England, making its pool of talents evident.
Shastri is credited with infusing the streak of resilience that has defined the current Indian team. His chemistry with Kohli has been good while his role in backing young players like Rishabh Pant and Prithvi Shaw has been praised.
Under the protocol, the Indian board will invite applications for the coaching positions after the T20 World Cup. Talks are already on to rope in former India captain Rahul Dravid as the chief coach. Dravid is the chief of India’s National Cricket Academy and has been widely applauded for his role as the coach of India ‘A’ and Under-19 sides and also the Indian team that recently went to Sri Lanka and won the one-day international series.
