Didn't consult Kohli over Shastri reappointment, says Kapil Dev

Present coach Ravi Shastri has been retained as the coach of the Indian cricket team for a two-year term.

Published : Aug 16, 2019 18:38 IST

Head coach Ravi Shastri and Virat Kohli during a nets session.
Head coach Ravi Shastri and Virat Kohli during a nets session.
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Head coach Ravi Shastri and Virat Kohli during a nets session.

The three-member Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) comprising Kapil Dev, Anshuman Gaekwad and Shantha Rangaswamy unanimously picked former India all-rounder Ravi Shastri as the head coach of the national team.

Addressing the media, Dev said that the race for the post of the India head coach was very close and that Shastri pipped other heavyweight contenders like Mike Hesson and Tom Moody.

READ: Ravi Shastri retained as India head coach

"We were amazed that the race was so close. We unanimously chose Ravi Shastri as the head coach of the Indian cricket team. After doing all the accounts and numbers we have decided that Tom Moody stands third, young Mike Hesson is second, very intelligent and number one is Ravi Shastri," the World Cup winning skipper said.

Speaking on the selection process, Kapil insisted that his team didn't consult with anyone while picking the coach including skipper Virat Kohli.

“Not at all, because if we take his (Kohli’s) views we would have taken the entire team’s views too. We haven’t asked anyone. The selection was done on a points system out of 100 how much each player deserves and there were about 4-5 parameters. Everybody gave their respective markings and I honestly can say that we didn't discuss who is giving whom how many marks.

"We then calculated and it was a very close race. I am not going into the details but I can tell you that the difference was very, very small. We didn't consult anyone while picking the coach and the rest of the details the BCCI will announce." Kapil said.

Shastri had a good record with the Indian team as the Kohli-led side claimed the number one status in Tests and won a historic Test series in Australia.

However, the recent World Cup semifinal exit seemed to dent Shastri's reputation but that didn't stop the CAC from retaining the former India all-rounder as head coach.

“If any manager don’t win (a World Cup) with any team, they should be sacked? No, you look at overall picture and we are not looking at that, we are looking what presentation he has given, we have gone by that,” Kapil shot back. 

Former India coach Gaekwad on his part said that Shastri had an advantage as he was the current coach and was well-versed with the system.

"Basically being the present coach, knowing the boys well and the problems, I think he is well-versed with the current system. If somebody knows the players well and can communicate well has the advantage. There was total transparency in the process," he said.  

When further asked about the details of the selection process, former India women's team skipper Shantha Rangaswamy said that all the three - Shastri, Hesson and Moody gave presentations but the CAC 'weighed in' their past performances as coaches.

"All of them gave what the way forward and we weighed it along with the past performances and that's where we picked Ravi Shastri," Rangaswamy said. 

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