NEW DELHI (TIP): BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur on May 20 said that a committee will be convened shortly to look into the appointment of the new India coach. However, he did not clarify whether Ravi Shastri would remain the team’s director of cricket for India’s tour to Bangladesh.
“Regarding the coach, I would say that good things come to those who wait. We are in the process of finalising the coach of the team. It may take some time, but we want to pick the right person who can deliver for the Indian team in the coming years,” said Thakur.
“We are in the process of finalising the cricket advisory committee and also shortlisting the name of the coaches who are available for India. Once that process is complete we will be in a position to take a final call.We are looking at all the positions whether it is that of the main coach or the support staff,” he added.
Thakur reiterated the Board’s decision to invite former captains Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly as advisors to guide Indian cricket in the near future. “I think we are very clear that we want to utilise the services of former cricketers, who can give BCCI some time for the promotion of the game. They can share ideas and opinion, they can be advisors to the Board, and we want to involve them to improve the standard of domestic cricket and to improve our performance overseas,” Thakur said.
Asked about the status of the Indo-Pak series that’s been a topic of hot discussion recently, Thakur said: “The Pakistan board chief (Shahryar Khan) came to India and met me in Delhi. He then went to Kolkata and met Mr Dalmiya (BCCI president). Thereafter, he met me again in Delhi. We are supposed to play a series in December as per the Future Tours Programme (FTP), but we are still at the discussion stage. There are many things to be decided. Once it’s all decided we will let you know.”