Ravi Shastri 'immensely popular' with current players: BCCI official

Add as a preferred source on Google

New Delhi, June 3: Ravi Shastri may have been retained as the Team Director for the upcoming Bangladesh series only but his appointment came after Board officials had some informal discussions with few top cricketers, who gave their 'Vote of Confidence' in favour of the former all-rounder.

While Sourav Ganguly, in some quarters, is still believed to be a strong contender for the 'High Performance Manager' or the Team Director's role, reliable sources in the BCCI said that most of the senior cricketers spoke highly about Shastri's "man management" abilities.

"You can be rest assured that BCCI top brass informally sounded out the likes of Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni about their view on the support staff. It has been found that Shastri is immensely popular within this current set-up and the players in general want him to continue. The current BCCI set-up wants inclusive approach and want the players to express themselves," a BCCI official told PTI.

Virat Kohli's statement to "Cricinfo" website during IPL also makes it clear as to what the team and specifically the captain wants.

"We would love to have him on board even if he is doing the same job right now. Just to have him around the group is a massive boost for us. To have him around the group in some way would be lovely. To have the head coach or who to have and what to do about is all part of the discussion when we sit down," Kohli had said before Shastri's appointment.

Shastri, a veteran of 80 Tests and 150 ODIs, stood behind the beleaguered team after their crushing 1-3 series defeat in England as they turned the corner with a victory in the limited overs competition.

PTI