London: Head coach Ravi Shastri is with Virat Kohli and Co in the UK for the ongoing Test series. Shastri, who took over as full-time India coach after India’s loss against Pakistan in the 2017 Champions Trophy final, is in the last leg of his tenure with the side. As per a report in the Indian Express, Shastri, whose contract with the side ends after the T20 World Cup, has decided to part ways with the side after the tournament in UAE.
Not just Shastri, the entire coaching staff would see a revamp as bowling coach Bharat Arun, fielding coach R Sridhar and batting coach Vikram Rathour are all set to move on after the T20 WC. As per the same report, it is learnt that some of the support staff is already in talks with IPL franchises.
From making the inaugural World Test Championship final to clean sweeping West Indies and Sri Lanka on their soil – in Shastri’s tenure, Kohli and Co grew as a team.
India beat Australia in Australia twice and that was a big thing to do. That too happened in Shastri’s tenure. Kohli and Co made the semi-final in the 2019 World Cup as well, apart from putting up stellar shows in South Africa and England.
Today, India is a dominant force in world cricket and have enviable bench strength. A lot of credit for all of this would be Shastri’s.
Once Shastri leaves, Rahul Dravid would certainly be a frontrunner to replace him. Dravid was recently part of the side as coach in the Sri Lanka tour. However, when asked about this option during the Lanka tour, he said: “I have enjoyed the experience of working with these guys, it has been great. I have not given any other thoughts to anything else. There are a lot of challenges in doing full-time roles, so I really don’t know,” he said.