Senior players' liking for Ravi Shastri tilted it in his favour.
Indian team director Ravi Shastri has backed India's batting mainstay Virat Kohli, who had a miserable Test series in England, and said he will bounce back.
Ravi Shastri considers his 18-month stint as the Indian cricket team's Director the "most cherished and memorable phase" of his life but does not want to comment on whether he would seek a contract renewal. "I have no doubt in my mind that these are the best 18 months that I have spent during my association with Indian cricket as a player and then as a Team Director. It has been the most memorable phase of my life if I just look back at what we achieved as a team during this phase. Credit to the boys for making it special," Shastri told PTI when asked about his stint with the Indian team. Asked if he would apply for the Chief Coach's post for which BCCI will be advertising, Shastri gave a typical tongue-in-cheek reply. "I will only apply for accreditation of the IPL final," Shastri quipped.
A bundle of nerves ahead of his international debut in the ongoing Asia Cup, India all-rounder Pawan Negi said emotions were getting the better of him before senior players like skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni stepped in with their calming words.
- 'Mentally and technically, Ravi Shastri helps a lot' - 'I am happy that I broke a crucial partnership and I just want to continue doing that'
Meanwhile, Australia skipper Michael Clarke, who was entangled in a war of words with Cricket Australia over his availability, is still a doubtful starter for the first Test following question marks over his fitness.
He might have scored a century as opener in the last Test that India played but Cheteshwar Pujara on Thursday said he was willing to bat at any position he is asked to by the team's think-tank in the opening game against South Africa starting November 5 in Mohali.
India captain Virat Kohli fell out of the top-10 while Ashwin climbed up the bowlers and well as the all-rounders' chart
Paceman Mohammed Shami is improving but he is not certain for the next match.
Attributing his brilliant World Cup form to a calm mind and hard work, Indian batsman Shikhar Dhawan has said he managed to come out of a lean patch by sticking to his strong work ethic.
An overwhelming win over Pakistan may have brought a lot of cheer to the Indian cricket team after an indifferent Australian Summer, but there are a few grey areas that are yet to be addressed by the side, including skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's poor run with the bat.
For a visiting cricketer, an India tour conjures up the image of a batsman surrounded by a shoal of fielders and facing relentless spin from both ends and South Africa should not expect anything different in the four-test series starting on Thursday.
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With India being outplayed in the Twenty20s, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni will face added pressure to perform and lead India from the front against a formidable South African unit in the five-match ODI cricket series starting in Kanpur on Sunday.
Comprehensively outplayed by South Africa in both the T20 internationals of the just-concluded three-match series, India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said that he does not want a lot of grass cover for the upcoming five-match ODI series, beginning October 11 in Kanpur.
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has hit back at Ravi Shastri saying the former team director of India has made it 'very personal' and he was hurt by Shastri's 'immature comments'. Shastri had earlier said that Ganguly should 'take his job seriously' after the latter was absent at the time of his interview for the post of India's head coach.
The all-powerful working committee meeting of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will take place in Chennai on Friday to discuss about deferring the Annual General Meeting (AGM) and a longer tenure for team director Ravi Shastri, who in all likelihood would be requested to guide India till next year's World Cup.
Virat wouldn't have got 700 runs and smashed four centuries in Tests in Australia, says Ravi Shastri.
Praising his players for the emphatic win over South Africa in the World Cup, team director Ravi Shastri said the management's decision to stick with Shikhar Dhawan, despite his poor form in the run-up to the showpiece event, proved right.
The Indian team used a unique method to tackle Pakistan's Mohammad Irfan, who at seven feet one inch, is the tallest cricketer in the world.
Despite crushing South Africa comprehensively in the recent Test series, Team Director Ravi Shastri feels that the current crop of Indian batsmen need "massive improvement" when it comes to facing spinners on tracks that offer turn.
BCCI's Cricket Advisory Committee member Sourav Ganguly explains why they decided to defer the naming of India's new coach. Harish Kotian/Rediff.com listens in.
Explaining the decision to appoint Anil Kumble despite his lack of experience as an international coach, BCCI president Anurag Thakur said the former spinner's record itself is a testimony to his worthiness for the job.
Will it be a foreigner from among the 57 applications received for job? Is it a race between Anil Kumble, Ravi Shastri, Sandeep Patil and Venkatesh Prasad?
India's stand-in-captain Virat Kohli is facing baptism by fire in the first Test against Australia in Brisbane next month, but former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin feels the result of this one match should not be the basis for passing a judgement on his leadership skills.
Suresh Raina was presented a golden opportunity to force his way back into the Test squad after being named captain of the Board President's XI, which will play the West Indies in a three-day warm-up match ahead of the Test series that follows the ongoing One-day internationals.
India's One-day captain has received solid backing from former players to continue leading the team.
Wriddhiman does acknowledge that he didn't score too many runs despite getting starts (25 and 35) in the first innings of both the Test matches Down Under.
Former India pacer Chetan Sharma believes Ishant Sharma has matured as a bowler and is leading the attack well following good performances with the ball in the ongoing three-Test series in Sri Lanka.
Having already secured their place in the final with three back-to-back wins, India are set to field their benched players against minnows United Arab Emirates (UAE) in their final league encounter of the Asia Cup T20 tournament, in Mirpur, on Thursday.
Former batsman V V S Laxman believes tinkering with Team India's support staff is not a viable option and newly-appointed team director Ravi Shastri and coach Duncan Fletcher should stay till the 2015 World Cup.
As far as the Indian team is concerned, even a 3-0 result against the hosts will not be enough for the second-placed side to claim the number one spot in the ICC rankings, while a favourable outcome for the home team will boost its qualifying chances for the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy.
Virat Kohli says his fighting fifty last week in the Delhi One-day international against the West Indies was the kind of knock he needed to overcome the first lean patch of his otherwise prolific career.
Former Australia captain, Dean Jones, is of the view that India Test captain Virat Kohli must have a say in picking the next coach and also says that changing staff again and again isn't a solution for the team.
Unstoppable so far with clinical performances, a formidable India will square off against a passionate and sprightly Bangladesh in their quest for continental supremacy in the final of the Asia Cup Twenty20 cricket tournament, in Mirpur, on Sunday.
Sri Lankan batting legend Kumar Sangakkara fought back tears in an emotional farewell where the country's President Maithripala Sirisena stumped him by offering the High Commissioner's post to United Kingdom, in Colombo, on Monday.
India's team director Ravi Shastri has agreed with former captain Rahul Dravid's views on not having too many bilateral ODI and T20 matches and said there should be more emphasis on the World Cup for the limited overs formats of the game.
The 22-yard strip at the Feroz Shah Kotla will be the cynosure of all eyes as a buoyant India seeks their biggest series triumph against South Africa when they square off in the final Test of the four-match rubber in Delhi on Thursday.
Indian batsman Ajinkya Rahane joined the bandwagon of Indian players, who have attributed Team Director Ravi Shastri for bringing about a turnaround in team's fortunes with his technical inputs in the ongoing ODI series after their dismal show in the Test matches.
For India, who are considered as title contenders, a good showing in the Asia Cup will give them the much-needed boost going into the World T20.
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