Ravi Shastri confirms that he has applied for the role of Team India coach

With the BCCI inching closer to selecting the new head coach for Team India, former director Ravi Shastri has officially confirmed submitting his application for the lucrative job. Speaking to PTI, the 54-year old remained non-committal about his chances to land the post.

Responding to BCCI's advertisement on inviting candidates for the position, Shastri asserted, “Yes, I have applied for the chief coach's post today morning. I have emailed all the requisite documents that was asked for in the advertisement.”

When asked if he had presented any particular roadmap for charting the growth of a promising pool of players, Shastri maintained, "Whatever is required by the BCCI, I have provided them.”

On his chances of securing the highly sought after role, the seasoned campaigner insisted, “You ask me whether I am confident or not. All I can say is that my job was to apply for the post and I have done that. I cannot comment on anything else.”

Earlier, the all-rounder had rated his term as Team Director as the most memorable experience of his life. Shastri declared, “Yes, I have had success as a player. I fondly remember 1985 World Championship of Cricket, 1983 World Cup and proud of those but this phase as the Team Director was special. Look at some of the performances during this phase.”

During the Mumbaikar's tenure, India had won a Test series in Sri Lanka after 22 years and defeated the top-ranked South African side at home by a convincing 3-0 margin. In the limited-overs front, there was an ODI series victory on English soil as well as a whitewash in the 3-match T20I series in Australia. However, the Indians could only reach the semi-finals of both the 50-over and 20-over World Cups.

He faces stiff competition from fellow countrymen such as Rahul Dravid and Sandeep Patil alongside possible overseas applicants too. It remains to be seen whether the BCCI pay heed to the requests of senior players and bring back Shastri in a different capacity.