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Was Kohli right in backing Shastri when selection process is still underway?

But what was annoying was to see the man reiterating his preference when the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is on its way to find a new coach for the side, with Shastri also in the fray.

Virat Kohli threw his weight behind Ravi Shastri at a wrong time.

Bengaluru, July 30: On Monday (July 29), India captain Virat Kohli clearly threw his weight behind Ravi Shastri as the head coach of the national team. It is not a new thing to know that the star batsman prefers the former all-rounder in that position, but what was annoying was to see the man reiterating his preference when the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is on its way to find a new coach for the side, with Shastri also in the fray.

Shastri, along with bowling coach Bharat Arun, batting coach Sanjay Bangar and fielding coach R Sridhar has been given a 45-day extension after the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 in which India lost to New Zealand in the semifinals. They will now accompany the Indian team for the tour of the West Indies that will take place between August 3 and September 3.

Speaking at a press conference with Shastri beside him, Kohli said: "Well, the CAC (Cricket Advisory Committee headed by Kapil Dev) has not contacted me on this. But all of us share a great camaraderie with Ravi bhai and would definitely be very happy (to have him around)."

"But as I had said, it's on the CAC to decide (how to go about it)."

Though Kohli added the second line to his statement, yet it was surprising to see despite being as influential an individual like the captain, he spoke on his personal preference on who should be the captain. Commentators Aakash Chopra and Harsha Bhogle picked this particular aspect of Kohli asserting his preference over the head coach.

Chopra tweeted: "Captain has voiced his preference. One of the CAC members has done the same for the position of Team India's Head Coach. Good luck to the ones who're still applying or have already applied."

Bhogle responded to Chopra's tweet saying: "It isn't a good idea, when applications are being invited, for key influencers to be stating their preference."

The latter then added in another tweet: "I wasn't talking specifically about Virat. I can understand that if you are asked a question, you answer it but the moment the question was asked, somebody should have said that the selection process is on and so, it wouldn't be right for him to answer it."

Was Bhogle trying to play it safer there for he has had bitter experience in the past.

The last date for applying for various posts in India's coaching staff team is Tuesday (July 30).

Story first published: Tuesday, July 30, 2019, 15:26 [IST]
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