Ravi Shastri has been appointed as the coach of the Indian cricket team. He is expected to coach team India until the end of 2019 ICC World Cup which will be held in England. Zaheer Khan has been appointed as the bowling coach of the side and Rahul Dravid will be the batting coach for the team for overseas tours only. Sanjay Banger will continue as the batting coach and Ramakrishna Sridhar will continue as he fielding coach.
It will not be the first time Ravi Shastri has been at the helm of the Indian cricket team. He was the Director of the side from 2014-16 before Anil Kumble took over as the coach.
Kumble was the coach for one whole year after which he resigned due to differences he had with Virat Kohli. There were a lot of rumours that Kohli wanted Ravi Shastri over the other candidates. One has to wonder when we have a specialized bowling, batting and fielding coaches why Ravi Shastri was chosen as a head coach?
Just like an accidental prime minister we have had in the past, Ravi Shastri is nothing but stooge in the garb of a coach. Ravi Shastri isn’t a regular coach. He probably Kohli ’s go to man, who probably wouldn’t question Kohli’s captaincy or Kohli’s decision making abilities.
He is a person who is probably going to take all the blame for the bad decisions Kohli is invariably going to make as a captain. In a team, a coach and a captain, are supposed to take care of the team but in the case of Ravi Shastri and Kohli, either of them are not capable of holding back in a fight or an argument which would spell doom for the team in a long run. Ravi Shastri, often gets carried while commentating and Kohli these days makes his mouth do the talking instead of his bat. The dressing room calm would be lost .
The Cricket Advisory Committee, comprising of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman, had clearly picked Anil Kumble over Ravi Shastri, who was rejected in the first trail. Being pressurised by Kohli to select someone whom they have rejected is a clear act of throwing one’s weight around. Ravi Shastri didn’t even attend the interview physically . Kumble’s work ethic which involved professionalism and due diligence with which he is known to make presentations when he attended the coaches interview. BCCI can surely do better than this.
A Shastri Kohli combo genuinely presents the risk of Indian team turning into bullies at home and poor travellers. Kumble’s straightforward and honest approach is desirable any day over Shastri’s jingoism. Kumble was correct on the fact that India should bat if they win the toss, in the Final of the Champions Trophy. Kohli defied it. Rest is history.
Shastri in his prime was a mediocre cricketer. Indian team needed a coach who is capable of pulling a rabbit out of the hat, especially because our current captain isn’t really someone who thinks out of the box.
Now we are stuck with an ego maniac of a coach and a captain, both busy satisfying each other’s egos. All will be well if we win a major trophy soon. If we do not win something fast, it’s not Ravi Shastri’s head on the line, its Kohli’s.