The BCCI and the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) has unanimously agreed to appoint Bhrat Arun as the bowling coach of Team India, rumours suggest. The news has been doing rounds after it was revealed that Zaheer Khan has not been finalised for the bowling coach’s role in Shastri’s coaching unit.
Bharat Arun will be seen in charge of the bowling coach duties during the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka.
Head Coach Ravi Shastri’s fav
Ravi Shastri has openly backed the 54 year old former Andhra Pradesh seamer Arun as his preferred candidate for the role. The likeliness of Arun getting nominated seems to be string as the negotiations about the salary package between Zaheer Khan and BCCI is still ongoing.
Earlier, Shastri demanded Arun’s appointment when asked about his choice of bowling coach but a unnamed member of the CAC, which constitutes of Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly, was against it.
Shastri then apparently said: “Give me Jason Gillespie then”.
According to reports , Shastri is expected to meet the top officials and the Committee of Administrators (COA) this weekend and will put forward his suggestions in front of them.
“Ravi has highest regards for Zaheer but he believes that a full-time bowling coach is required. Let Zak (Zaheer) create a roadmap for bowlers and it will be Arun who will implement it. Ravi is expected to speak to COA on Saturday and make it clear that he would like Arun to join the team from Sri Lanka tour itself,” a anonymous BCCI official told the media.
Friends since the Under-19 days
Ravi Shastri and Bharat Arun know each other for a long time. Arun was a part of the Under-19 team which was led by Ravi Shastri that toured Sri Lanka in 1979. Later the two played toegther for the national team as well for a breif period.
Arun made his debut against Sri Lanka in 1986 and was picked as Kapil Dev’s opening bowling partner. Unfortunately, he faded away very quickly and could play only two Tests. He made his ODI debut in the same series and played 4 games before getting dropped.