The Team Indian Coaching drama culminated on Tuesday with the Indian cricket board's Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) naming Ravi Shastri the new coach of the Indian men's cricket team. As soon as the announcement was made, Twitter was abuzz as twitterati welcomed the 'tracer bullet' of Indian cricket to the post. Former India all-rounder Shastri will hold the charge till the 2019 ICC World Cup. He had earlier served as the Team Director before Anil Kumble was appointed in 2016 the head coach for a year. Shastri's first assignment with the team will be the upcoming Sri Lanka tour, featuring three Tests, five ODIs and a one-off T20 International, starting on July 26.
A veteran of 80 Tests and 150 One-Day Internationals (ODI), Shastri was overlooked last year as the CAC went ahead and picked Kumble for a one-year term, that ended on a controversial note after the ICC Champions Trophy, in June.
Shastri had initially not applied for the top post but when the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) extended the deadline for acceptance of applications till July 9, the former all-rounder jumped into the fray and suddenly became the hot favourite, given his cordial relations with Kohli.