Team India head coach Ravi Shastri, along with the other members of the support staff including bowling coach Bharat Arun, batting coach Vikram Rathour and the fielding coach R Sridhar are set to part ways with the team after their tenure ends with the completion of ICC T20 World Cup in October-November in the UAE.
Shastri has informed some of the members of the BCCI that he won’t be continuing with the Indian team after his contract ends. It also said that the other members of the coaching staff have also decided to move on and are in talks with some of the IPL franchises for a role in the support staff.
Shastri, who joined the team for the first time as the Cricket Director in 2014, continued till 2016 before former leg-spinner Anil Kumble overtook as the head coach for one year, after being replaced by Shastri as the head coach following the loss in the 2017 Champions Trophy final against Pakistan.
Shastri was appointed till the 2019 Cricket World Cup but was later re-appointed for two more years till the end of the 2021 T20 World Cup. However, the board now has felt the need for a change.
Meanwhile, BCCI has also invited applications for the position of NCA head, currently held by Rahul Dravid. While, he looks most likely to be re-appointed, the BCCI may also appoint another candidate if Dravid, who was the coach for Team India during the Sri Lanka tour last month, decides to apply for the coaching role, whose applications will be invited in November after the end of the T20 World Cup.
Under Shastri, while Team India failed to win an ICC trophy, they remained a force to reckon with playing at home with dominance and winning overseas too including the historic series Down Under winning it 2-1 without their regular captain Virat Kohli and breaching the fortress Gabba with a second-string side. India also qualified for the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) final where they lost to New Zealand.
