Indian captain M S Dhoni during an ICC World Cup – 2015 practice session at Adelaide Oval in Adelaide, Australia on Feb 14, 2015. (Photo: IANS)
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) extended former captain Ravi Shastri’s role as the national team director till the end of the Bangladesh tour.
One Test match and three One-Day Internationals (ODIs) are scheduled for the 16-day tour that begins from June 10.
“The BCCI wishes to inform that Ravi Shastri, former India captain, has been appointed as director of the Indian cricket team for the tour of Bangladesh, starting on 10 June,” BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur said in a statement.
Sanjay Bangar, B. Arun, R. Sridhar will continue as the batting, bowling and fielding coaches, respectively.
Biswarup Dey was named as administrative manager, while Rishikesh Upadhayaya was appointed the logistics manager for the tour.
The 53-year-old Shastri has played 80 Tests and 150 ODIs for India, scoring 3,830 and 3,108 runs respectively. He also has 151 Test and 129 ODI wickets. The former Mumbai cricketer was a member of the Indian squad that won the 1983 World Cup.
Shastri along with Bangar, Arun, Sridhar took over the responsibility of Indian team during ODI series of India’s tour of England in 2014.
England beat India 3-1 in the five-match Test series, but India came back strongly to clinch the ODI series 3-1 under their guidance. The lone T20 was won by England.
They were also in charge of India during the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. India lost to co-hosts Australia in the semi-finals of the tournament, but overall put up an impressive show.
After the departure of Duncan Fletcher, India team is currently looking for a coach, while the BCCI on Monday appointed batting legends Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and V.V.S. Laxman in newly-formed advisory cricket committee.
The trio’s “areas of immediate focus will be to provide guidance to our national team as we set out to enhance our performance on overseas engagements, provide direction to improve our talent pathway and take steps to strengthen domestic cricket to better prepare our players to handle the rigours of international cricket”, the BCCI said in a release.
The BCCI is expected to name Fletcher’s replacement after the Bangladesh tour after consulting the advisory committee.
