The Cricket Paper

Internatio­nal

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Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe Test and India coaching U-turn

ZAHEER Khan and Rahul Dravid will not be part of India’s set-up for the time being after the BCCI U-turned on their recent appointmen­ts.

Zaheer was announced as bowling consultant with Dravid as overseas Test batting consultant under new head coach Ravi Shastri, though a committee has been formed to decide if they are needed at all.

Shastri has, though, recommende­d to the BCCI that Bharat Arun be appointed the bowling coach. Arun was Shastri’s team-mate from U19 and India days and served in the same capacity while Shastri was India team director.

Vinod Rai, head of the BCCI, said: “The support staff has been decided in consultati­on with the head coach already. There is going to be a core support staff, which will be fielding, batting and bowling, which has been decided.”

And while it was Shastri that was named as head coach, it could have been so different with former Yorkshire coach Jason Gillespie thinking long and hard over whether to apply.

Gillespie has an impressive coaching CV, having led Yorkshire to back-to-back County Championsh­ips and winning the Big Bash with Adelaide Strikers. But he never did put his hat into the ring for the India job.

Gillespie said:“I to-ed and fro-ed. In the end I just felt I wasn’t quite ready for that opportunit­y. Maybe in a couple of years that’d be something I’d seriously consider.”

 ??  ?? Ditched: Zaheer Zhan
Ditched: Zaheer Zhan

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