#2 Ravi Shastri : 9/10
One of the prime faces of the campaign and the leading contender amongst the Indian applicants who have applied for the job, former team India director Ravi Shastri has plenty to offer as the full-time coach of then Indian cricket team. Having served as the Team Director for a period close to two years – from July 2014 to April 2016 – Shastri has an inside-out know-how of the affairs of Indian cricket team and has also built long lasting relationships with the Indian skippers across the three formats, MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli. His two-year association with the team has seen the Indian team scale new highs, while also suffering embarrassing lows at the same time. However, the achievements such as winning the Asia Cup and making it to the semi-finals of the ICC World T20 2016 as well as the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 present him in good stead, and he may very well be handed over the reins of the team as a full-time coach.
Shastri's contract had expired after India's semi-final exit from the ICC World T20 2016, when they lost to the West Indies at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on March 31 this year. The BCCI had decided not to renew his contract and also of the supporting staff, comprising Sanjay Bangar, Bharat Arun and R Sridhar. Bangar, however, was appointed as the interim head coach of the national side for the ongoing tour of Zimbabwe. A potent all-rounder during his heydeys, Shastri has played 80 Tests and 150 ODIs for India. He has scored 3830 Test runs and has picked up 151 wickets, and 3108 ODI runs and has picked up 129 wickets.
The 54-year-old’s long-term involvement with the BCCI as a commentator, as well as with the national side, and his acquaintance with the current crop of Indian cricketers surely makes him a definite contender for the position.
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