Ravi Shastri's reappointment as head coach of the Indian team was not influenced by captain Virat Kohli's public backing of the incumbent, Cricket Advisory Committee(CAC) chief Kapil Dev said on Friday.
Shastri was reappointed for a two-year period by the CAC, a decision that was expected. His term will again be up for review after the 2021 T20 World Cup in India.
Among all the candidates, Shastri's record was unmatched as the team reached the No.1 ranking in Test matches under his guidance and won a series in Australia for the first time in 71 years.
On the flip side, India twice lost in the World Cup semi-finals (2015 and 2019) with him at the helm but that didn't seem to have had a bearing on the decision taken by the committee that also comprised Shantha Rangaswamy and Anshuman Gaekwad.
Going by what India's first World Cup-winning skipper said, Shastri's communication skills may have played a big part.
Shastri pipped former India teammates Robin Singh and Lalchand Rajput along with former New Zealand coach Mike Hesson and Australian Tom Moody to the post. Former West Indies and Afghanistan coach Phil Simmons pulled out of the race, citing personal reasons.
Asked about the advantage Shastri had over others, Gaekwad said, "Basically, being the current coach, knowing the boys well, knowing the problems well in the team and what needs to be done.
Before leaving for the West Indies tour, Kohli, when asked if he would prefer Shastri at the helm again, the India captain responded in the positive.
"Well, the CAC has not contacted me on this. But all of us share a great camaraderie with Ravi bhai and would definitely be very happy (to have him around),” Kohli had said.
Shastri was the team director till June 2016 until India lost in the World T20 semi-finals before being appointed as head coach in 2017.
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