Former Indian cricketer Kirti Azad slams Ravi Shastri and BCCI

Former Indian cricketer Kirti Azad slams Ravi Shastri and BCCI: The former Indian cricketer Kirti Azad has openly criticized the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on the topic of the head Coach of the Indian cricket team. It is notable that the tenure of the former Indian Coach Duncan Fletcher got over at the end of World Cup 2015. Since then the board has not appointed any head coach though the team has Ravi Shastri as the Team Director. Many players including the Indian Test skipper have lauded Shastri’s positive effect and role in the team on many occasions.

But, Kirti Azad doesn’t like India’s tactics of not having a head coach. In his column for DNA news he wrote that, “What is the BCCI doing about finalising the head coach? I understand that the five wise men have (The advisory committee) met only once — the shoe, it seems, is on the other foot. The current team does not want to settle for anybody other than Shastri. But, what are they doing?”

Recently India A had emerged glorious in the Tri-series involving Australia A and South Africa A. Kirti further said that, “Dravid’s fine run with India ‘A’ should make him a front-runner for the job, and the appropriate choice. Dravid is the best choice amongst Indians and he can straightaway be given the job. I hope that you all agree.”

In the 1^st Test against Sri Lanka, India had lost the match by 63 runs even after attaining a big lead of 192 runs in the 1^st innings of the Galle Test. Reflecting on the loss Kirti Azad wrote, “Sri Lankan players ensured that their team turned a huge 192-run deficit into a 176-run target for India. The Indian batsmen stumbled against the guile of Rangana Herath, giving away a 1-0 lead to Sri Lanka. This is the second time that India have lost in pursuit of chasing a target of less than 200. The first instance was against the West Indies in Barbados in 1997, where India were bowled out for 81 while chasing 120. It seems that Ravi Shastri, the current team director, was there too.”

There were also many cricket experts who scrutinized India team management’s decision of opting for Rohit Sharma ahead of Cheteshwar Pujara at no.3 position in the batting line-up. Kirti Azad expressed his opinion on this topic as well. He asserted that, “Rohit Sharma is an enigma. While nobody doubts his potential, he like Suresh Raina, who has taken years to mature and deliver the goods. Getting him at No. 3 was never a wise decision, particularly if the contingent has Cheteshwar Pujara, who has a far better and tighter defence.”

The 56-year-old further said that, “Sadly, after the retirements of Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, who used to shepherd chases around themselves, this young team seems to be at a loose end. Sachin Tendulkar’s record in fourth innings chases was never particularly good, and it was left to Dravid to knit valuable rearguard action in the company of Laxman. Both of them could tackle the conditions and bowlers with equal equanimity.”