Ravi Shastri reappointed Team India head coach, catch highlights of the announcement by CAC: Ravi Shastri will continue as the head coach of the Indian men’s cricket team, winning a second term on Friday. The three-member Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) instituted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), comprising Kapil Dev, Anshuman Gaekwad and Shantha Rangaswamy, announced the decision after conducting interviews with the prime candidates. This will be Shastri’s fourth stint with the national team, having served briefly as the Cricket Manager (2007 tour of Bangladesh), Team Director (2014-2016) and head coach (2017-2019).

Follow Team India coach selection highlights below:

19:35 hrs IST What made Shastri pip others? “Basically, being the current coach, knowing the boys well, knowing the problems well in the team and what needs to be done. I think he is well-versed with the entire system. If somebody knows the system, knows the players well and can communicate well, I think he has the advantage,” said Anshuman Gaekwad.





19:21 hrs IST Shastri’s communication skills played a big part “All of them were excellent. Sometime I felt Shastri had more skills of communication, they may have felt differently but we didn’t discuss about that, we have given the marks after listening to their presentations. “We all three have learnt so much, knowing how much hard work they have put in their presentation,” Kapil said.





19:10 hrs IST Kapil says no to Kohli’s advice “If we had taken Kohli’s advice, then we would have to take advice from everyone in the team. We did not ask anyone. We did not have that provision with us.”





18:55 hrs IST Shastri’s fourth stint with the team This will be Shastri’s fourth stint with the national team, having served briefly as the Cricket Manager (2007 tour of Bangladesh), Team Director (2014-2016) and head coach (2017-2019).





18:38 hrs IST Shastri reigns supreme, again! Among all the candidates, Ravi 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. 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. India have won 13 out of 21 Tests, 43 out of 60 ODIs and 25 T20 Internationals out of 36 on his watch.





18:33 hrs IST Kapil spoke regarding support staff “We have given a letter to the BCCI that we, CAC, should have a say in the selection of the support staff as well as the selectors,” said Kapil Dev (Reports HT’s Sanjjeev Samyal from the Wankhede Stadium)





18:28 hrs IST ‘Knows the boys very well’ Anshuman Gaekwad: “He (Shastri) is well versed with the system and knows the boys very well. He has a good understanding with the boys and has good communication skills.” (Reports HT’s Sanjjeev Samyal from the Wankhede Stadium)





18:25 hrs IST ‘Difference of small numbers’ Kapil Dev: “We gave marks out of 100. There was a difference of very small numbers, which amazed us as well. Hesson and Moody were very good too.” (Reports HT’s Sanjjeev Samyal from the Wankhede Stadium)





18:20 hrs IST Kapil Dev: Unanimous decision Ravi Shastri will continue as team India head coach as confirmed by Kapil Dev during the press conference. He also said that Tom Moody came a close third and Mike Hesson finished second in the race. The CAC reappoints Mr Ravi Shastri as the Head Coach of the Indian Cricket Team. pic.twitter.com/vLqgkyj7I2 — BCCI (@BCCI) August 16, 2019





18:13 hrs IST CAC members reach the venue The official broadcasters of the press conference have confirmed that Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) members have reached the venue and they will hold the press conference any time now. CAC is three-member panel: Kapil Dev, Anshuman Gaikwad and Shantha Rangaswamy.





18:07 hrs IST Tenure of next head coach The next head coach of the Indian men’s cricket team will be given a contract till the 2021 ICC T20 World Cup. “The head coach will be at the helm of affairs till the 2021 World T20 and after that it will be a process of re-appointment or selection of a new coach as has been the trend in recent years. The support staff will also be handed contracts till the World T20 as continuity is very important considering the big ticket events that are lined up over the next couple of years,” a BCCI functionary told IANS.





18:00 hrs IST Who is the frontrunner to bag the job? Incumbent Ravi Shastri is believed to be overwhelming favourite to retain his spot as the next India head coach. However, Shastri will face tough competition from Tom Moody. India’s head coach will be selected for the period starting September 5 till November 24, 2021.





17:50 hrs IST Phil Simmons pulls out A member of the CAC informed Hindustan Times that Simmons has pulled out of the race before breaking for lunch. No reasons were given for the former West Indies coach’s last minute decision to pull out. Ravi Shastri is expected to make his presentation at around 5 pm while the press conference to announce the name of the coach is slated for 6 pm as of now.





17:40 hrs IST Contender 5: Robin Singh (India) Former Indian all-rounder Robin Singh is now an experienced coach. He began his coaching career immediately after hanging his boots from international cricket and was in charge of the India Under-19 side. In 2006, he was appointed coach of India A where he worked with cricketers like Robin Uthappa and Gautam Gambhir. Following this, he was appointed fielding coach of the Indian team and was part of the management when India lifted the inaugural World T20 in 2007. Also, he was appointed head coach of the now-defunct IPL franchise Deccan Chargers. He was then appointed head coach of Mumbai Indians in 2010 and currently, is the fielding coach of the franchise.





17:30 hrs IST Contender 4: Lalchand Rajput (India) A former opening batsman for Mumbai Lalchand Rajput was coach of Under-19 Indian Cricket Team during the tour of England. Also, he was the manager of a young Indian side which won the World T20 in South Africa back in 2007. Rajput was then appointed head coach of Mumbai Indians in its first season and then got his big break when he was named head coach of Afghanistan’s national team, replacing Pakistan’s Inzamam ul Haq. After his contract was terminated by Afghanistan cricket board, he was named head coach of Zimbabwe in May 2018. Currently, he was the head coach of Winnipeg Hawks franchise team for the 2019 Global T20 Canada tournament.





17:20 hrs IST Contender 3: Mike Hesson (New Zealand) The diminutive Mike Hesson forged a brilliant partnership with Brendon McCullum and New Zealand cricket prospered under this duo. Under Hesson, New Zealand became an irrepressible Test unit in home conditions and also adopted a very dynamic brand of cricket which saw them gallop their way to the World Cup finals in 2015. Also, Hesson was appointed coach of Kings XI Punjab for Indian Premier League in 2019. He resigned from this post earlier this month in order to make himself available for this role.





17:10 hrs IST Contender 2: Tom Moody (Australia) Tom Moody has rich coaching experience and his pedigree makes him one of the favourites to bag the job. He has earlier coached Sri Lanka and has experience in Indian cricket as he was the head coach of Kings XI Punjab and Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL. Also, he the tournament in charge of Caribbean Premier League and has had coaching stints in Bangladesh Premier League as well as in Pakistan Super League.





17:00 hrs IST Contender 1: Ravi Shastri (India) The incumbent Ravi Shastri got the backing of Team India captain Virat Kohli to continue as the head coach. The Indian team has had mixed results under the Kohli-Shastri partnership. He has been associated as interim coach and manager of the side previously too and was appointed head coach of the Indian team in 2017 by the Cricket Advisory Committee which comprised Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman. Under Shastri, India have not won any significant trophy and barring the series win in Australia, the team struggled in Test matches in South Africa and England and was also ousted from the 2019 World Cup when they lost to New Zealand.





16:50 hrs IST What is the process of selecting next coach? The six shortlisted candidates will submit their presentation – which is a roadmap for Indian cricket’s future – to the Kapil Dev CAC. The committee also holds the rights to conduct an interview session with the candidates. It should be noted that out of the six shortlisted candidates, Phil Simmons as withdrawn his application.





16:40 hrs IST Who will select new coach? A three-member committee comprising former India captain Kapil Dev, former India head coach Anshuman Gaekwad and former India women’s team captain Shantha Rangaswamy has been appointed by the CoA to select the next India head coach.



