BCCI to take strong action on Kohli, Shastri if India lose Test series

The board has claimed that they have provided whatever the team asked for. Now if results don't come, they have rights to ask questions

After an embarrassing defeat to England by an innings and 159 runs, Indian skipper Virat Kohli and head coach Ravi Shastri have landed in a state of trouble. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is planning to pose a few questions depending on how the third Test against England pans out.

India is reeling in the series 0-2 while the third Test in Nottingham is going to decide their fate in the rest of the series. However, ahead of the rest of the series, the board has made up its mood to take a strong move.

“The Indian team can't complain that they were not given enough time to prepare. When we lost the South Africa series, the players spoke about tight scheduling and lack of practice games. It was after speaking to them that we decided that white ball matches will be held before the Tests,” PTI quoted a senior BCCI official as saying.

 “We arranged white ball matches first. It was on the senior team's insistence that we send the India A team during the same time starting the concept of 'Shadow Tour'. Two senior India players (M Vijay and Ajinkya Rahane) were accommodated for A team games. Whatever they wanted, they were provided. Now if results don't come, the Board is well within its rights to ask questions,” the official added.

In fact, there is a possibility that if India lose the series, the Shastri-Kohli duo may not enjoy unlimited powers as it has been the case till now.

"Don't forget under Shastri and current support staff, we have lost major Test series in Australia (0-2 in 2014-15), South Africa (1-2 in 2017-18). Now we are in dire straits in England.”

Apart from the coach-captain pair, the board likely to assess the output of Shastri’s associates – batting coach Sanjay Bangar, bowling coach Bharat Arun and fielding coach Sridhar.

"If you remember, BCCI removed Duncan Fletcher's assistants Joe Dawes (bowling coach) and Trevor Penny (fielding coach) after India lost the Test series 1-3 in England. Shastri became the Director along with Sanjay Bangar, R Sridhar and Bharat Arun joining the support staff before the ODI series," the official recalled.

Since Sridhar took over, the Indian slip fielders have dropped 50 catches with former Australian captain Ian Chappell also questioning the technique. In case of Bangar, his biggest challenge was to get the players ready for tough away tours but even after four years, it is evident that he has not been able to provide a solution to their woes.