The Indian cricket team's fielding coach Trevor Penney and bowling coach Joe Dawes were the first casualties in the aftermath of the 1-3 Test series loss to England. The duo were "dropped" Tuesday for the upcoming one-day series while former India captain Ravi Shastri was appointed director of the team.
Though under-fire Duncan Fletcher will continue as head coach, his wings were clipped by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) with the appointment of Shastri as the overall in-charge of the team.
"In culmination of the discussions among all the office-bearers over the last couple of weeks, the BCCI has decided to avail the services of former India captain Ravi Shastri to oversee and guide the Indian cricket team for the forthcoming One-Day International (ODI) matches against England," said a BCCI statement.
"Duncan Fletcher will continue as head coach while Ravi Shastri will be the overall in-charge of cricket affairs of the Indian team."
On Penney and Dawes, the official line from BCCI was that they were given a break for the five-match ODI series beginning Aug 25 but a top official said that they have been dropped.
"They have actually been dropped. We will take a call on both Penney and Dawes after the series in over," a top BCCI official told IANS.
The BCCI has also appointed former India all-rounder Sanjay Bangar and former fast bowler Bharat Arun as the assistant coaches while R. Sridhar will join the as the fielding coach for the ODI series.
It was after five years that BCCI has appointed Indians as assistant coaches. Venkatesh Prasad and Robin Singh, who were appointed in 2007, were sacked as the bowling and the fielding coaches in 2009.
