Brett Lee weighs in on debate surrounding Ravi Shastri's support staff

What's the story?

Brett Lee offered his opinion on the controversy surrounding the selection of the support staff for new Indian head coach Ravi Shastri stating that the coach should have the final say as to whom he wishes to work alongside.

"If a person has been chosen as the head coach then he is like the captain of the support staff. He should be allowed to choose the support staff," Lee said.

The former Australian fast bowler was speaking to the media at Coimbatore where he had landed to inaugurate the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) Fan Park at the PSG Sarvajana School grounds.

Lee feels that the second season of the TNPL, which kicked off today at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, will be bigger and better than the previous one and is hopeful that more players like Washington Sundar get a look in at the IPL with their performances here.

"It is a nice experience to be here. TNPL has proved to be a platform for many emerging players," Lee said.

In case you didn't know...

After Anil Kumble stepped down as head coach of the side due to differences of opinion with skipper Virat Kohli, the Cricket Advisory Committee consisting of Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, and VVS Laxman had named Ravi Shastri as his replacement until the 2019 World Cup.

However, the decision to name Rahul Dravid and Zaheer Khan as batting and bowling consultants was not something that amused Shastri and following discussions with the BCCI, it was decided that Sanjay Bangar would be the assistant coach and Bharat Arun, the bowling coach with both enjoying a two-year contract like Shastri.

The heart of the matter

The BCCI's decision created a lot of stir with many feeling that the authenticity of the CAC was compromised and that the board simply bowed down to Shastri's demands.

However, Lee took a different stand and felt that the coach had every right to choose his own set of people as it is vital that he is able to get his point across to the whole side and that having people he is comfortable with around him will make things a whole lot easier.

Lee also shared his thoughts on the pay crisis that has gripped Australian cricket and expressed hope that Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers Association can resolve the issue at the earliest so that no future international assignments like the series against India and the Ashes gets affected.

What's next?

The BCCI clarified earlier in the day that Dravid would not be accompanying the Indian cricket team when they tour South Africa in their next international assignment or any other overseas tour for that matter after the tour of Sri Lanka.

It still remains to be seen how much and to what extent Dravid and Zaheer can impact the side in their stated roles as consultants.

Extra cover: Rahul Dravid will not travel with Team India on overseas tours

Author's take

Though the manner in which the whole episode has played out is unfortunate, Lee does make a valid point. There is no point in forcing someone to work alongside people that they are not comfortable with as the frustration can badly impact the performance of the team.