Five challenges that await Ravi Shastri as India's new head coach

Indian cricket’s recent head coach saga was a long-drawn out and noisy affair. It started right at the cusp of the ICC Champions Trophy in England and breathed its last yesterday. Or so you would hope.

Let us look at the events that unfolded before, during and after the coach-selection drama and how they marked an embarrassing chapter of Indian cricket

First, reports of an alleged feud between captain Virat Kohli and the then-coach Anil Kumble started flying off the grapevine a week before the Champions Trophy. In his first press conference of the tournament, Kohli vehemently denied the reports, saying they harboured no truth whatsoever and were just a feeble attempt by the media to create a ruckus before the tournament.

Meanwhile, the BCCI began accepting applications for the position of the head-coach instead of simply renewing Kumble’s contract, in spite of the exceptional results that the Bangalorean had achieved in his 12-month tenure. Virender Sehwag, Tom Moody, Lalchand Rajput, Dodda Ganesh and Richard Pybus were the applicants for the job, with Kumble getting a direct entry into the selection process.

What followed was a colossal defeat for India at the hands of arch-rivals Pakistan in the Champions Trophy final. Its aftermath was felt two days later, when Kumble stepped down from his position, citing ‘untenable’ relations with the captain. BCCI then extended the deadline for incoming applications, and an array of big names like Ravi Shastri, Lance Klusener, Venkatesh Prasad and Phil Simmons were suddenly thrown into the mix.

The list of candidates was eventually curtailed from ten to six with Shastri, Sehwag, Moody, Rajput, Pybus and Simmons being shortlisted for the job.

The Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), comprising Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman, interviewed all the six applicants on July 10, and the official announcement was made soon after.

While Shastri got what he wanted, his upcoming stint with the team has already been laden with sticks and stones. Here are five of the most prominent challenges that await the 55-year-old as the coach of the Indian cricket team:

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#1 Dealing with the aftermath of Kumble’s exit

The aforementioned circumstances that arose at the cusp of Shastri’s appointment process have left a dark blotch on the country’s current cricketing framework. Questions are being asked, doubt is sprouting from every corner and there has been a general air of disproval and negativity around Shastri taking the national side’s reins from Kumble.

Driving the country’s focus back to cricket would be a top priority for the Indian coach.

He has to ensure that the psyche of his players is not affected due to the aura of negativity that has latched itself onto the team for almost two months now. A full-fledged tour of Sri Lanka awaits the Indian team, and Shastri cannot afford his players to focus on anything other than the intense cricket they will play over the next month and a half.

The tour will kick off with a Test match in Galle later this month. It will be followed by four Tests, three ODIs and a single T20I.

“My job is to make every player concentrate on his role in the team and think about nothing but the next game at his disposal,” said Shastri in a press conference today.

#2 Erasing the middle-order question mark

How long will Yuvraj be persisted with?

At this point in time, the mystery surrounding India’s middle order in limited overs cricket is greater than the Bermuda Triangle! Yuvraj Singh, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul are all fighting for the No. 4 and No. 5 slots in India’s otherwise-potent batting order.

With the ICC World Cup 2019 looming large, it is important for Kohli and Shastri to develop a side that's tried, tested and ready for the impending tournament.

Rahane performed exceedingly well in the West Indies after warming the benches throughout the Champions Trophy. However, he was filling in for rested opener Rohit Sharma, and might not be able to adjust to a middle-order role.

Yuvraj scored a scintillating fifty against Pakistan in India’s opening game of the Champions Trophy but has struggled with the willow ever since. There is serious doubt hovering over his future in international cricket, and the tour to Sri Lanka might just be his last shot at redemption.

Rahul missed out on both the Champions Trophy and the West Indies tour owing to an injury and while he is back in the Test squad for the Sri Lankan tour, it will be interesting to see if he is named in the limited-overs squad.

Dhoni has been excellent with the gloves as usual but seems to have lost a smidgen of his batting prowess. Dinesh Karthik had a decent series in the West Indies and is likely to retain his No. 5 position in the batting unit, for now.

Meanwhile, the next generation is at the threshold in the form of Rishabh Pant.

Dealing with so many options is a headache that Kohli and Shastri would like to have. However, choosing the playing XI for different kinds of games is going to be quite a task for the duo. If they end up picking a particular player instead of another, they will receive flak from all corners. That’s the problem with being privy to too many choices.

Hence, Shastri needs to ensure that he gives an equal window of opportunity to all these players while trying to figure out who fits well into the current dynamic of the Indian batting order.

#3 Sketching the road map for Dhoni’s future

Shastri must focus on extracting the best from Dhoni’s waning cricketing career

An extension of this middle order debate is to make a plan for Dhoni’s future with the Indian team.

The former Indian captain is clearly on the last lap of his international career. However, his extensive experience, tactical genius, and cricketing knowledge still bring a lot to the Indian cricket team’s table. His wicketkeeping skills are still beyond question, and no one else comes close to him with the gloves even today.

Propelling the hard-hitting batsman to No. 4 might just be what India need. It will help him free his arms (literally) and partially release him of the burden of trying to finish off the innings.

Shastri needs to sit down with the 37-year-old and have a long, hard talk about his future.

India need Dhoni even today. However, he’s not going to be around forever. As a coach, the challenge before Shastri is to figure out a way of extracting the most from Dhoni and helping him sustain this level for as long as possible.

Dhoni’s judgment and experience might prove to be invaluable for the Indian team in the World Cup. However, there's just that one pressing question: Will the World Cup-winning former skipper be able to survive and thrive at the highest level for another year and a half?

#4 Performing in overseas tours

Overseas tours will threaten India’s No. 1 Test ranking

To say that India’s overseas Test performances since 2011 have not been up to the mark would be an understatement. The team have struggled to win Tests in big cricketing nations like England, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia. They are yet to win a series in South Africa as well as Australia and last won an overseas series in England a decade ago.

Shastri was the Team Director during India’s tours of England and Australia in the 2014-15 season and knows that there is a lot of work to be done in that aspect. Kohli's nightmarish stint in England that summer might be a thing of the past now, but it will immediately rear its ugly head again when India go there next.

India played 13 back to back Test matches at home for the longest home season in cricket history recently. An avalanche of overseas tours follow. India’s No. 1 Test ranking is at stake and Kohli’s captaincy will be under the scanner. Shastri's ability to mentor the team through these Tests will be tested and one would hope that he manages to create a positive impact on the players.

#5 The ICC World Cup 2019

Will India take the trophy back from defending champions Australia?

This just had to feature on this list. How could it not? The 50 over World Cup is cricket’s biggest spectacle. India performed well in the last two editions of the tournament, having been crowned the champions in one of them.

The Dhoni-led side were defeated in the semi-final of the 2015 edition, to eventual champions, Australia. Taking into account that the World T20 of 2018 is now being pushed to 2020, the ICC World Cup 2019 will be Kohli’s first World Cup as a skipper.

Moreover, it will be hosted in England.

That ought to put additional pressure on the 28-year-old. This is where Shastri’s role will be of pivotal importance. He will have to bring all his experience into play and create a nexus Kohli can rely on every time he feels unsure of himself.

Apart from providing the essential psychological support, Shastri has to ensure that he assists Kohli in building the right squad for the tournament and fielding the optimal playing XI for every match of the tournament.