BCCI U-turn? Zaheer Khan as bowling consultant not full time

Rahul Dravid

The BCCI today made it clear that Zaheer Khan's appointment as bowling consultant of the Indian cricket team is also tour specific, just like batting
consultant Rahul Dravid.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India also said that the appointment of both Zaheer and Dravid was done after consulting new head coach Ravi Shastri.

The Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), comprising Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman, had interviewed five candidates for the post of head coach on July 9.

Zaheer Khan

The BCCI thanked the CAC for its job without taking any money.

"BCCI expresses its sincere gratitude to the members of the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) who most willingly agreed to undertake the process of selection of the Head Coach of the Indian Cricket Team.

The three members of the committee have executed the assigned task with total transparency, professionalism and commitment to Indian cricket," the BCCI said in a release.

"The recommendation for Mr. Ravi Shastri was made on the merit of his presentation and the vision that he projected for taking the team to greater heights. After taking the decision on his selection, the CAC consulted him and decided on having Batting and Bowling consultants on overseas tour-to-tour basis, as per the requirement of the team," the release added.

"The BCCI wishes to thank the CAC for the selfless pro bono service rendered to assist the Board in the selection process of India Cricket Team's Head Coach."

At the time of announcing the new coach on Monday, the BCCI clearly mentioned Zaheer as the team's full-time bowling coach.

The appointment of Shastri adds to the never-ending drama, which began with the bitter exit of Anil Kumble as cheif coach following differences with skipper Virat Kohli.