The Committee of Administrators (CoA) in all likelihood will have a discussion with chief coach Ravi Shastri on Indian team's below-par show in England. India lost the ODI as well as the Test series to the hosts and the CoA is expected to assess the team's performance after the end of the fifth Test.
“There is a CoA meeting in Mumbai on September 11. While the main discussion will be on implementation of the new constitution, the performance of England series will certainly come up for discussion,” a senior BCCI official told PTI today.
“It will be CoA's call whether they want to meet Ravi Shastri in person or seek his feedback via a written report. At this point in time, Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) is non-functional. Till elections are held, it’s CoA which will be in charge, so it’s only imperative that they will assess the performance” he added.
If a meeting happens, then chairman of selectors MSK Prasad’s opinion will also be sought. There is a convention for more than three decades of manager’s report being submitted after each and every series (home and away) but usually, the coach never gives any report.
However, contrary to popular belief the manager does not have the mandate to review the team’s performance.
“The manager’s report is a templated one. Sunil Subramanium's duties are purely administrative and it has got nothing to do with cricketing performance. It will be purely based on logistics issues like accommodation, choice of food, travelling facilities, practice conditions etc. Sunil doesn’t have the mandate to write anything else. So cricketing feedback depends on either Shastri, Kohli or MSK,” the official clarified.
After Greg Chappell's departure, no Indian coach has submitted performance review report, in writing, to the BCCI after foreign series. The convention has been either secretary or the president meeting the coach or the captain for a discussion on the series gone by.
However, acting president CK Khanna will not be entrusted with any such responsibility while acting secretary Amitabh Chaudhary's powers have been curtailed by the CoA.
It will be interesting to note if CoA asks for the team physio Patrick Farhart's report on the injury status of certain players during the ongoing tour which is likely to conclude in the next couple of days.
“Was Bhuvneshwar Kumar forced into playing the third ODI despite back injury? Was Ravichandran Ashwin fully fit during the Southampton Test? In both cases, the official word was an aggravation of injury which proves there was an injury in first place. Hope CoA asks for this report,” another senior BCCI official said.