Former captain Ravi Shastri was on Tuesday named the new head coach of India for a two-year period, ending weeks of speculation over the high-profile job after Anil Kumble’s dramatic exit.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India also appointed ex-paceman Zaheer Khan as the bowling consultant and Rahul Dravid as batting consultant for overseas tours.
“The term of the appointments will be till the World Cup 2019,” the BCCI said in a late night release.
An advisory panel comprising Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman “conducted the interviews and recommended these appointments in the best interest of the Indian Cricket”.
Shastri, 55, edged out five high-profile names including batting great Virender Sehwag, Australia’s Tom Moody, Englishman Richard Pybus and former India manager Lalchand Rajput, who were interviewed in Mumbai on Monday.
Zaheer, 38, who has no formal coaching experience, has been part of the Delhi Daredevils thinktank in recent Indian Premier League seasons.
Dravid recently gave up his position as the Daredevils mentor, after accepting a two-year contract to coach India A and Under-19 teams and BCCI said his expertise “will be immensely helpful for youngsters”.