Ravi Shastri to be new India coach, may become highest paid cricket coach in the world: Reports

Team director Ravi Shastri will be the new India coach, BCCI sources have told Hindustan Times. The Rs 7 crore-a-year-deal that will make the former skipper the highest paid cricket coach in the world is likely to be announced at the end of the Bangladesh tour, says a report in the national daily.

According to the newspaper, the former all-rounder, who takes over from Zimbabwean Duncan Fletcher, will be the first Indian to hold the job after 2000 when John Wright of New Zealand ushered in the era of foreign coaches. “The Board of Control for Cricket in India, said sources, stopped looking for a new coach after Test captain Virat Kohli told them he wanted Shastri in the dressing room,” says the report, adding, “Credited with turning around the team’s fortunes ahead of the World Cup earlier this year after a winless three months in Australia, Shastri enjoys confidence of the squad. The overwhelming support pushed all other contenders out of the race, sources said.”

Shastri, who had a Rs 4-crore a year contract with the BCCI as a TV commentator, will be the first cricket coach to be paid more than a $1 million (about rs 6.4 crore). He drew about Rs 6 crore annually as team director until the World Cup.

Meanwhile according to a column in Live Mint, the bromance between Indian cricket’s interim team director Ravi Shastri and Test match captain Virat Kohli is quite fascinating. “The two appear to have hit it off from the word go, when the One Day International (ODI) series against England was being played last year. Since then the mutual admiration has progressed by leaps and bounds. The nexus between the two is of similar mindsets and personalities. Those familiar with Shastri’s playing days will recall his colourful personality, but also perhaps detect some lingering regret. Vice-captain for several years, he led in only one Test, though he captained Bombay and West Zone several times: by default when Dilip Vengsarkar was unavailable in the 1987-88 series against Viv Richards’ West Indies. Against all odds, India won the match at Chennai to square the series,” says the column by Ayaz Memon, adding, “But Shastri, widely touted as the country’s best captain then, never got a chance to lead again. Perhaps as team director, he sees the opportunity to actualize his ambition obliquely through Kohli.”
“This will, of course, to a great extent depend on how long Shastri continues in this position. His assignment technically gets over after the Bangladesh tour, which started on 10 June, though there are strong indications that he might get an extension. Kohli has gone on record that Shastri is good for the team, which may be the clincher with the Board of Control for Cricket in India if the terms and conditions are mutually acceptable to both parties.,” adds the article.

However, Ayaz in his column writes that for mentoring the team too, there must be a longish road map, not just a quickly reached milestone. “If Shastri finds this task fulfilling, he must put his other interests—writing and TV commentary—on the back-burner for the period. Dipping in and out of this position makes no sense. On the assumption that he will remain, how his relationship with Kohli plays out will be interesting to see. There will be challenges ahead for both. Shastri, at some stage, will have to settle for the back seat and Kohli, sooner rather than later, will have to learn to be entirely his own man.”