Ravi Shastri had always been the favourite among the list of candidates for the post of head coach. And thus, his appointment till the 2019 World Cup came as no surprise.
After interviewing all the prospective coaches, the CAC – comprising Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman – had decided to consult skipper Virat Kohli before announcing their final decision.
After the announcement was made on 11 July, Shastri was appointed, Ganguly told The Indian Express:
In consultation with Virat, we picked the best person
Due to an ‘untenable partnership’ with Kohli, Kumble had been forced to step down in June after he completed his one-year tenure, ending with the Champions Trophy.
The three CAC members allegedly had different opinions on who should be replacing Anil Kumble, who they had picked for the job last year. However, Ganguly told The Indian Express that the decision to appoint Shastri had been “unanimous”.
Ganguly also revealed that the decision to appoint Zaheer Khan as bowling consultant and India-A and Under-19 coach Rahul Dravid as the batting consultant for overseas Tests, had been taken after Sachin Tendulkar consulted Shastri.
He (Shastri) was consulted by Sachin. That’s why we had asked for time.
Newly-appointed Indian coach Ravi Shastri on Wednesday said that the current Indian cricket team, with a battery of pacers at its disposal, can go on to become the country's best-ever Test outfit in the coming years.
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