Should Ravi Shastri be retained as director?

The BCCI wants him to continue till the World Cup. Since many Indian team members, including skipper M.S. Dhoni, publicly praised his contribution in the ODI series, one supposes that the team would have no objection to it either. So what’s the hitch?For the assignment in England I had argued that Shastri would bring value with his positivity and forthright way of dealing with players and issues. In the current situation, however, I would argue otherwise: that his continuance in this role does not make much sense unless it is long term.

In England the team had hit a trough and morale was rock bottom. This demanded crisis management: a jolt to rouse players from the defeatism that appeared to have engulfed them.What was needed then was urgent injection of a sense of purpose and energy for a short-term objective. Such ‘disruptions’ are not unknown in management practices. But while this tactic can work well in an emergency, it has underlying danger if allowed to continue without perspective. If not thought out properly, the gains made could soon dissolve into chaos.

Ad hoc appointment of specialists, experts and mentors usually manifests the wealthy state of the administration, not necessarily a well-thought out policy. This is what the BCCI has been prone to do, but must now rationalize.Matters have settled down to an extent and what is needed is stability and a long-term vision. Shastri has the wherewithal to provide this, but it can’t be of value if the role and term of appointment remain ambiguous.

In the current scenario, for instance, it could unsettle the coach and the support staff. Duncan Fletcher, whom incidentally Shastri rates very highly, would get into an existential crisis again.

At some level, this would also confound the captain, though Shastri has been quite clear that Dhoni is the undisputed ‘boss’ of everything connected with play when the team takes the ground.

Having seen him as both player and captain, I know how strongly he sees the role of the captain. But if clarity about long-term objective is missing, it could demean the position of the captain and the confusion would percolate down to the players.