Mumbai: Former India head coach Ravi Shastri thinks that the captain and coach should have a say in the team selection in the future. In Indian cricket, the captain is a part of the selection committee meeting to give inputs ahead of a bilateral series or an ICC event.
But the decision of choosing the final squad lies with the five-member selection panel.
The head coach, on the other hand, doesn’t have a spot in the selection matters. This is in stark contrast to selection systems in Australia, where head coaches have a say in selecting the squad, or England, where the head coach is the chief selector as well after the country disbanded the selection committee.
“I think it is extremely important that the captain and the coach should have a say in team selection. I think going forward, both should officially have a say. Especially if the coach is experienced enough like I was and now how Rahul (Dravid) is,” said Shastri on Bold and Brave – The Shastri Way show on Star Sports.
Shastri, who himself played as an all-rounder for India and captained Mumbai in domestic cricket, believes that the captain has to be in the selection meeting in person. “It should happen in a meeting – not on the phone or outside — where the captain is there so that he gets to see the mindset of the selectors. What happens in the meeting when the convenor is there, all the big boys are there — he should be in that meeting.”
Shastri served as the head coach of the Indian cricket team from the 2017 white-ball series against West Indies. Under him, India rose to be a force in Test cricket, winning the Border-Gavaskar Trophy twice in Australia apart from leading 2-1 in England. In the white-ball matches, India notched up many bilateral series wins but were unable to translate that into titles in ICC events.
Shastri’s term ended after India crashed out in the Super 12 stage of the Men’s 2021 T20 World Cup in the UAE. Shastri had also worked as the team director from 2014 to 2016. Former India captain Rahul Dravid, who coached A and U19 teams in the past, is currently the head coach of the Indian team.