| The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has blindly rolled a dice by appointing former skipper Ravi Shastri as the Director of Cricket for the upcoming One-Day International (ODI) series against England.
Even as the position does not take away the responsibilities of head coach Duncan Fletcher, Shastri has been appointed to overlook the affairs of the team in the upcoming series. While it is a known fact that Shastri is one of the wiliest cricketing brain in the world, the move appears as a knee-jerk reaction to India’s humiliating performance in the recently-concluded Test series. The board also appointed Sanjay Bangar, Bharat Arun and R Sridhar and rested fielding coach Trevor Penney and bowling coach Joe Dawes.
There is little merit in the appointments that the board has made. Firstly, no measures have been taken to redress the batting issues, the biggest failure of Indian team during the Test series. Secondly, if indeed Shastri had to come to the rescue of an already overloaded support staff, it shows that the board has lost their confidence in Fletcher.
Maybe it is subtle sign for Fletcher that his time is up or a hasty move by the BCCI which accidentally puts a head coach of the stature of Fletcher in an embarrassing position. Whatever the reason be, Shastri’s appointment and the persistence with Fletcher defies logic. The move seems a desperate show of action being taking to solve a much more deep rooted problem. However, more importantly, the board is taking remedial measures where it is not required. |