Captain and coach should have a say in team selection: Ravi Shastri

New Delhi, Dec 30: Former India head coach Ravi Shastri believes a captain and coach should get the team they wish for in order to reap better dividends. Shastri - the former India captain - claimed that the selectors should also respect the suggestion of the captain and coach.

While speaking on whether the coach and captain should have a say in the Team India squad selection, Shastri said on STAR SPORTS show BOLD & BRAVE: THE SHASTRI WAY, "I think it is extremely important that the captain and the coach should have a say in team selection. I think going forward, both should officially have a say. Especially if the coach is experienced enough like I was and now how Rahul is."

Shastri - who vacated the office as one of the most successful coaches in the history of Indian cricket - also added that the decision making should happen in a meeting and not over the phone.

"It should happen in a meeting - not on the phone or outside - where the captain is there so that he gets to see the mindsets of the selectors. What happens in the meeting when the convenor is there, all the big boys are there - he should be in that meeting," the 59-year-old added further.

Shastri, who has played 80 Tests, earlier spoke about his relationship with India's Test captain Virat Kohli, who was also the ODI and T20 skipper when Shastri was the head coach for a considerable amount of time.

"We're both pretty aggressive, we want to play to win. We realized very quickly that to win you need to take 20 wickets, deciding to play aggressive and fearless cricket. "It meant at times you would lose games but once you got one across the line, then it's infectious," Shastri had claimed.

Former India cricketer Rahul Dravid succeeded Shastri as the head coach of the national side and the team is aiming to take giant strides under the Karnataka stalwart.