Finally, the so long pending process of appointment of the coach came to an end with Ravi Shastri holding the post of the head coach of the Indian cricket team. This is the first time Ravi Shastri is handling this position. Former Indian player and legendary fast bowler Zaheer Khan has been appointed as the bowling coach of the team while Sanjay Bangar remains to be the batting coach. Also, Rahul Dravid has been asked to work as a batting consultant of the team mostly on overseas tour.
The above decisions were taken by Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) comprising of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman after having a conference call with Indian skipper Virat Kohli.
According to the sources, selection of coach was not an easy process and there was a tough competition between Ravi Shastri and Sehwag. Also, it is learned that former captain Sourav Ganguly had reservations about Shastri’s appointment as a coach. However, he was convinced by Sachin Tendulkar and later pulled Zaheer Khan as the bowling coach of Indian cricket team.
According to a BCCI official, “Sourav was brought around and convinced about Ravi after it was agreed that Zaheer would be made the bowling coach. Zaheer is such a name that no one could have possibly objected to due to his repertoire of knowledge and a fantastic relation with the current crop.”
BCCI’s acting secretary, Amitabh Choudhary on Zaheer’s appointment said, “Khan is a contemporary cricketer who assumed the mentoring role to a young fast bowling unit even during his playing days with India. His inputs will be of immense value to our young fast bowlers, who have shown tremendous potential in the last couple of years.