Ravi Shastri Re-elected As Team India Head Coach Till November 2021

After interviewing 5 candidates for the entire day, the team of Kapil Dev, Anshuman Gaekwad and Shantha Rangaswamy took this decision unanimously

Putting an end to all the speculations, BCCI’s Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) has re-appointed Ravi Shastri as Team India’s head coach till November 24, 2021.. After interviewing 5 candidates for the entire day, the team of Kapil Dev, Anshuman Gaekwad and Shantha Rangaswamy took this decision 'unanimously'. This will be Shastri's fourth stint with the national team, having served briefly as the Cricket Manager (2007 tour of Bangladesh), Team Director (2014-2016) and head coach (2017-2019). Shastri pipped former India teammates Robin Singh and Lalchand Rajput along with former New Zealand coach Mike Hesson and Australian Tom Moody to the post. Former West Indies and Afghanistan coach Phil Simmons pulled out of the race, citing personal reasons. “Number three was Tom Moody, number two was Mike Hesson. Number one is Ravi Shastri as all of you were expecting... (But) It was a very close race,” said Kapil at the press conference to announce the decision here.

The CAC reappoints Mr Ravi Shastri as the Head Coach of the Indian Cricket Team. pic.twitter.com/vLqgkyj7I2

— BCCI (@BCCI) August 16, 2019

Among all the candidates, Shastri's record was unmatched as the team reached the No.1 ranking in Test matches under his guidance and won a series in Australia for the first time in 71 years. Earlier today, former West Indies opener Phil Simmons pulled out of the race. He had officially intimated the BCCI that he will not be appearing for the interview, leaving five people - Shastri, Robin Singh, Lalchand Rajput, Mike Hesson, Tom Moody – in contention. Singh and Lalchand Rajput appeared in person for the interviews at a suburban hotel, while Tom Moody appeared via Skype from Australia. Mike Hesson also arrived at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai for the interview. He has earlier been the coach of New Zealand and Kenya. He has also coached franchise teams like Kings XI Punjab and Otago Volts. On August 12, BCCI had shortlisted six candidates for the men's team's head coach including Shastri.