Shastri has his way: Bharat Arun, R Sridhar bowling, fielding coaches

Mumbai: After the CAC previously appointed Rahul Dravid and Zaheer Khan as batting and bowling coach respectively, the BCCI has retained Bharat Arun as the bowling coach for the Indian cricket team.

The 54-year-old previously worked under Shastri as a bowling coach during his tenure as team director from 2014 to 2016. Arun has also played with Shastri during his younger days for the U-19 and the national team.

The decision to stick with Arun as a full-time bowling coach was due to Zaheer’s availability for only 150 days in the year. Also, no contract has been awarded to India U-19 and India ‘A’ coach Rahul Dravid. Sanjay Bangar has been named as the assistant coach to Ravi Shastri and will also be the batting coach while R Sridhar will continue as fielding coach.

New head coach Ravi Shastri has said he was clear about the core team, despite the CAC's recommendations. The CAC, comprising of former Team India greats like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman, had recommended Zaheer and Dravid, there have been talks about the duo taking up temporary mentorship roles with head coach Ravi Shastri’s core coaching team.
Dravid, who is already the head coach of the India A and the India U-19 sides, will not be available all the time, and may only travel with the senior national team on overseas tours.