Shastris And Kumbles Will Come And Go, Says New Coach Ravi Shastri

New Indian cricket team coach Ravi Shastri played down the manner in which he was appointed after Anil Kumble stepped down from the position. Addressing the media ahead of the team's tour to Sri Lanka, Shastri said that the fabric of the team was more important than the individuals. "Shastris and Kumbles will come and go, the fabric of the team will remain," he said.

Asked about Arun's contribution during his previous stint with the team, Shastri strongly defended his colleague's return.

"There is track record there. Fifteen years of his life has been coaching. He has been with A teams, u-19 teams, junior World Cup teams. He knows the boys better than I do.

"In the 2015 World Cup, our bowlers took 77 out of 80 wickets. If he was a big name, you would have put him on the top of the tree. I don't need to elaborate too much on what he is good at. It is there for everyone to see."

Shastri also spoke about the importance of communication between the captain and the support staff.

"I will answer this in two parts, as a player and former captain. When you play the game, you want your your mind clear and that happens with good communication with the support staff.

"As captain, my job was to put every player in this frame of mind. That was my job and that's his job," he added.

Opener Murali Vijay has been ruled out of the Test series against Sri Lanka due to a wrist injury. The Tamil Nadu cricketer was subsequently replaced by Shikhar Dhawan in the 16-member squad for the three-match series starting July 26 in Galle. Dhawan, who is a regular in the Indian ODI side, has played 23 Tests, averages 38.52 and has four Test hundreds to his name. He last played a Test for India in 2016 against New Zealand in a home series.

Virat Kohli-led India are set to play 3 Tests, 5 ODIs and one T20I against Sri Lanka during the long series that begins end July. The three Test matches will be played at Galle, Colombo and Kandy, respectively. This is the first time the two countries will be playing a full series (includes all three formats) in eight years.

After the Test series, India are scheduled to play five one-dayers starting August 20 before signing off with a lone Twenty20 on September 6.