BCCI retains Ravi Shastri as team India’s head coach till 2021

Ravi Shastri has been re-appointed head coach of Indian men’s cricket team till 2021 by Kapil Dev-led Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC).  The CAC unanimously felt that incumbent’s communication skills and understanding of team issues stood out. Ravi had the public backing of captain Virat Kohli even before the short-listing was initiated.

Key Highlights

Cricket Advisory Committee: The 3-member CAC headed by Kapil Dev comprised of former India coach Anshuman Gaekwad and ex women’s captain Shantha Rangaswamy.

Reappointment Period: Ravi Shastri is reappointment for a 2-year period. His tenure will end with T20 World Cup 2021 in India. This will be his 4th stint with national team. Earlier, he has breifly served as Cricket Manager (2007 tour of Bangladesh), Team Director (2014-2016) and head coach (2017-2019).

Ravi has played 150 ODIs and 80 Tests. He was contracted till World Cup 2019 in England, but he was given a 45-day extension till end of ongoing West Indies tour, where visitors have won both T20 and ODI series.

Others who applied: Apart from Shastri, former New Zealand coach (and Kings XI Punjab coach) Mike Hesson, former Australia all-rounder and Sri Lanka coach Tom Moody, former India teammates Robin Singh and Lalchand Rajput also applied for post. Former West Indies and Afghanistan coach Phil Simmons pulled out of race, citing personal reasons.

Indian Team Under Ravi Shastri

On Shastris’ watch, India have won 11 out of 21 Tests (with a success rate of 52.38%), 43 out of 60 ODIs (success rate of 71.67%) and 25 T20 Internationals out of 36 (success rate of 69.44%).

Ravi Shastri’s record since his comeback in 2017 has been very impressive, having guided Indian team to its maiden Test series win on Australian soil in 2018.

The only blip could be fact that in 2015 World Cup in Australia (when Ravi was Team Director) and last edition in UK, Indian team couldn’t go beyond semi-finals.

Month: Current Affairs - August, 2019