New Delhi: A couple of days back, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the appointment of Ravi Shastri as head coach, with Zaheer Khan and Rahul Dravid casting in the supporting roles of bowling coach and overseas batting consultant (Test cricket).
But on Thursday, as per the latest release issued by the Indian board, Zaheer's designation seems to have been changed to a 'consultant' just like that of Dravid.
"The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) expresses its sincere gratitude to the members of the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) who most willingly agreed to undertake the process of selection of the Head Coach of the Indian Cricket Team," the BCCI release said.
"The three members of the committee - Mr. Sourav Ganguly, Mr. Sachin Tendulkar and Mr. VVS Laxman - have executed the assigned task with total transparency, professionalism and commitment to Indian cricket.
"The recommendation for Mr. Ravi Shastri was made on the merit of his presentation and the vision that he projected for taking the team to greater heights. After taking the decision on his selection, the CAC consulted him and decided on having Batting and Bowling consultants on overseas tour-to-tour basis, as per the requirement of the team.
"The BCCI wishes to thank the CAC for the selfless pro bono service rendered to assist the Board in the selection process of India Cricket Team's Head Coach," the release concluded.
Earlier, a media report claimed that Shastri was indeed unhappy with Zaheer's appointment as bowling coach and wanted his role to be reduced to that of a consultant's, which would allow the return of Bharat Arun as the bowling coach, yes, in place of the former left-arm speedster.
Arun was the bowling coach of the national team between 2014 and 2016. It was the same period which coincided with Shastri being the Team Director.
With BCCI's latest release, it seems that Shastri has convinced the board on Zaheer's role reduction, and Arun's re-entry could soon be announced.
