Ravi Shastri contract ends following World T20 exit

While the World T20 campaign came to a rather abrupt end, the contract of team director Ravi Shastri also concluded. Shastri, who had signed a contract till the conclusion of the World T20 2016 has been team director of the Indian side since September 2014. Anurag Thakur, the secretary of the BCCI has said that the contract will be up for renewal should the advisory committee deem it fit. The advisory committee comprises of Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, and Sachin Tendulkar.

Ravi Shastri had initially signed a contract that kept him as the director of the Indian team till the conclusion of the 2016 World T20. However, the 7-wicket loss at the hands of the West Indies meant that Shastri’s contract was effectively over. However, although Anurag Thakur has stated that it would be ideal to be renewed, the BCCI will be looking for a full-time coach as opposed to a team director.

“Ravi Shastri’s contract has ended. We are looking at a full-time coach and the decision will be taken by the Cricket Advisory Committee. There won’t be a team director and a full-time coach. It will be only one post and even Ravi’s contract can come up for renewal,” Thakur said.

Ravi Shastri, who happens to be a popular choice among the senior members of the side will also be a contender for the coaching role. When asked, Thakur said, “It will entirely be CAC’s call. But it will be the post of a full-time coach. CAC has been asked to shortlist the names of the possible candidates for the post.”

“The meeting of the CAC is expected to happen post-April 3. It can happen before the start of the IPL [Indian Premier League] also. We will have to decide on the date,” the BCCI secretary said.

Ravi Shastri took over as the director of the Indian team following the 3-1 defeat in the Test series against England in 2014. Since then, the Indian side has had a plethora of highs and lows. They went on to lose the subsequent Test series in Australia 2-0 and the ODI series that followed.

However, they reached the semifinals of the 2015 World Cup. The Indian Test side also picked up wins over Sri Lanka and South Africa despite losing the limited overs series to the Proteas. However, they lost ODI series’ against Bangladesh and Australia in spite of briefly retaining the no.1 spot in Test rankings as well as dominating the T20 scene.