Shastri to continue as India team director till World T20

MUMBAI, (Reuters) – Former captain Ravi Shastri will continue in his role as India’s team director until next year’s World Twenty20 competition at home, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said yesterday.

Ravi Shastri
Ravi Shastri

The 53-year-old Shastri will continue to be supported by assistant coaches Sanjay Bangar (batting), Bharat Arun (bowling) and Ramakrishnan Sridhar (fielding), whose tenures have also been extended until the March 11-April 3 tournament.

India have been without a head coach since Duncan Fletcher left in March when his term came to an end after India’s semi-final defeat at the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

The BCCI had named former batting greats Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman to a cricket advisory committee, which advised the board to extend Shastri’s tenure.

“Based on the recommendations of the Cricket Advisory Committee, the BCCI has extended the appointment of Mr. Ravi Shastri as the Team director of the Indian Cricket Team till the ICC World T20 2016,” the board said in a statement.

India recently recorded their first test series win in Sri Lanka since 1993 under new captain Virat Kohli and will welcome South Africa next month for a series comprising four tests, three T20 matches and a five-game ODI series.