“In an unpredictable world, there was one certainty”- Harsha Bhogle on Ravi Shastri’s selection as India’s head coach

Ravi Shastri has managed to retain his position as the head coach of the Indian cricket team on August 16. The Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), headed by Kapil Dev, the 1983 World Cup-winning Indian skipper, zeroed in on the decision to not relieve Shastri of his services. The CAC panel also consisted of the likes of Anshuman Gaekwad and Shantha Rangaswamy.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) made the official letter public where the signatures of the three CAC panel members were present. Earlier there were six candidates, who were shortlisted for the same, namely Shastri, Tom Moody, Mike Hesson, Lalchand Rajput, Phil Simmons and Robin Singh. Earlier Simmons withdrew his name from the interview, citing personal reasons.

Shastri edges out Hesson and Moody

In a press conference in Mumbai, Kapil mentioned that Hesson and Moody were the second and third preferences after Shastri. The decision to reappoint Shastri didn’t go down well with the netizens by any means and the CAC had to face the heat. Shastri was first appointed as the coach after Anil Kumble stepped down from his role following his altercation with Virat Kohli.

Shastri’s contract ended after India’s World Cup campaign and he was on an extension period until the end of the West Indies tour. This will be Shastri’s fourth stint in the Indian team after serving as the team manager and the team director. He has been appointed for a two-year period until the 2021 T20 World Cup. In the meantime, Harsha Bhogle had some words on the appointment.

Bhogle, who’s a renowned cricket journalist, felt that the management persisting with Shastri didn’t spring a surprise and it wasn’t something unpredictable. Bhogle also put forth the international games India would be playing with Shastri at the helm.

He took to Twitter and wrote, “In a world that is so unpredictable, there was but one certainty. No surprise that Ravi Shastri continues as coach of the Indian team.”

Here is Bhogle’s first tweet

Replying to his first tweet, Bhogle wrote, “In this two-year period, India don’t only play two T20 World Cups, they also play 4 tests in Australia, 10 against England (5 home and 5 away) and a World Test Championship final if they make it there.”

Here is Bhogle’s second tweet

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