Ravi Shastri and his coaching staff comprising Bharat Arun, Sanjay Bangar and R Sridhar are highly likely to continue their positions as the team wants them to continue, a report in TOI suggests. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) officially began the procedure to appoint new coaches on Tuesday after the board put out an advertisement on its website.
Also Read: MS Dhoni makes himself unavailable for West Indies tour, set to miss the series
For now, Shastri and co will travel to the West Indies as their contracts were extended for a period of 45 days. It is a known fact that Ravi Shastri shares a good rapport with Indian skipper Virat Kohli and it is highly unlikely that the team will want a change in the coaching staff.
Just like 2017, the advertisement put out by BCCI is expected t get a cold response due to the fact that Shastri is the favourite to get the job. He and his colleagues have got direct entry into the selection process.
It is to be noted that he had not applied for the post of head coach in 2017 at first. It was only after BCCI reopened the applications that Shastri went ahead. He was the favourite to get the job and in the end, ended up winning the race.
He brought back Bharat Arun as the bowling coach as well. However, for the first time, BCCI has also advertised for the post of other positions – apart from the head coach – and changes to Shastri’s staff can be made if he is reappointed.
Also Read: KKR add Trevor Bayliss, Brendon McCullum to coaching staff
Under him, India have had mixed results. India lost Test series in England and South Africa while in 2018/19, they became the first Asian team to defeat Australia in Australia in the longest format the game. A defeat in the home series in ODIs against Australia was also a low point. India made it to the semi-final of World Cup 2019 but could not chase down a target of 240 against New Zealand.
Shastri remains to be the favourite for the job unless a veteran like Virender Sehwag again applies for the for it, as he did in 2017. The Indian batting legend might again throw his hat in the ring to become the highest-paid coach in the cricketing circles.