Shastri to coach India in Bangladesh

Former skipper given temporary post ahead of the tour

NEW DELHI: Former captain Ravi Shastri was on Tuesday named India’s interim coach for next week’s tour of Bangladesh after officials failed to appoint a full-time successor to Duncan Fletcher.

Zimbabwean Fletcher’s four-year term ended after the recent World Cup in Australia and New Zealand where MS Dhoni’s defending champions were ousted in the semi-finals.

Shastri, who was the team director on the bilateral tour of Australia and the World Cup, was announced as a stop-gap arrangement for the short visit to Bangladesh to play one Test and three ODIs.

The Indian cricket board added in a statement that Shastri will be assisted by batting coach Sanjay Bangar, bowling coach Bharat Arun and fielding coach R Sridhar, all of whom served the team in Australia.

The tour begins with the one-off Test in Fatullah from June 10 to 14, followed by three ODIs in Dhaka on June 18, 21 and 24. 

Published in The Express Tribune, June 3^rd, 2015.

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