Ravi Shastri reveals why he applied for Team India head coach job

Mumbai: Ravi Shastri revealed that his desire to solve a “huge problem” in Indian cricket spurred him on to apply for the Team India head coach job.

Shastri was appointed as the head coach of the Indian cricket team earlier this week, after much media speculation on the subject. The former India captain had applied in the second phase of BCCI’s invitations for applications for the Team India, which was done after Anil Kumble stepped down from the post.

“I didn't apply in the first place. What did make me apply was when I realised that there was a huge problem there,” Shastri said to Mid-Day. “Initially, I didn't reply but I didn't realise how serious the issues were.

“Therefore, when the BCCI reopened the (application window), I gave it a thought and said to myself, 'you must (apply) because you have been instrumental in (the appointment of) your support staff and have seen where your team has risen to,” said Shastri. “Now, you can also see in front of your eyes that there is a problem, so instead of backing away from it, take it head on.”

Lalchand Rajput, Tom Moody, Richard Pybus and Virender Sehwag were the other candidates to have been in contention for the job.

Ravi Shastri will begin his term as the coach of the Indian team with  the tour of Sri Lanka, which will  begin from July 23. He will also be joined by former Indian cricketers, Rahul Dravid and Zaheer Khan as the batting and bowling consultants, respectively.