Ravi Shastri Confirmed as Indian Cricket Team’s New Coach Until 2019 World Cup

After weeks of speculation and a number of applications, the Board of Control of Cricket in India has officially announced the new Team India head coach. Former India player Ravi Shastri will have the honour of coaching the players until his contract expires at the end of the 2019 World Cup. The Cricket Advisory Committee comprising of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman took the collective decision to appoint Shastri as the coach.

Shastri was the front-running candidate among five other applicants who were all interviewed in Mumbai. These candidates included Tom Moody, Richard Pybus, Virender Sehwag, Phil Simmons and Lalchand Rajput. Former fast bowler Zaheer Khan has also been appointed as the bowling coach while former captain Rahul Dravid was confirmed as the batting coach for select away tours. Shastri bring a lot of experience to the table while Khan will be instrumental in the development of the seam department. Dravid’s input will also be crucial since a number of Test series are scheduled overseas for the next two years.

Shastri is no stranger to working with the Men In Blue, having been the Team Director for a period of 18 months. Around the time of predecessor Anil Kumble’s appointment, Shastri had applied for the position but lost out to the former. At the time, he had alleged that Cricket Advisory Committee member Sourav Ganguly was absent for the Skype interview. But Ganguly shot back that Shastri should have been there personally and he questioned his commitment. But now that is all history as we look forward to a new chapter for the Indian Cricket Team under the wing of Ravi Shastri.