India Coach Ravi Shastri Granted a Contract Extension after ICC Cricket World Cup 2019

According to reports by Cricketnext, India’s?head coach Ravi Shastri and his support staff will have their contracts extended by a period of 45 days. The contract extension was granted by the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators.

Along with Ravi Shastri, assistant coach Sanjay Bangar, bowling coach Bharat Arun and fielding coach R Sridhar had their contracts extended. This extension is set to take effect following the conclusion of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.

The minutes of the meeting read, ?After some discussion, the CoA decided that the contracts for the support staff can be extended by 45 days on an ad-hoc basis and that interviews of the support staff should be conducted after the World Cup,?.

Ravi Shastri assumed the role of head coach of the Indian cricket team in July 2017. The 57-year old was appointed by the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC),?consisting of former cricketers, Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman.

The minutes of the meeting also stated, “As the CAC?s involvement is required for the purpose selecting a Head Coach, as a preliminary step, the BCCI management should speak to the members of CAC and ascertain what is their expectation vis-?-vis remuneration/compensation for their services and a draft of the terms of reference for the CAC should be prepared and circulated for CoA?s consideration.”

Further complicating matters is the fact that the CAC is no longer fully functional. This was in the wake of a controversy regarding the administrative roles played by CAC members. This was especially with regard to teams playing in the IPL, leading to potential conflicts of interest.

However,?Clause 24 (5) of the revised BCCI constitution states that the head coach of the Indian team can only be appointed by the CAC, leaving the BCCI in a difficult position.