Former Indian cricketer Kirti Azad has come down hard at the men in blue after they lost the first Test match in Galle despite being in a winning position. India, who were in the driver's seat for majority of the Test, were miserable in the fourth innings as they suffered a batting collapse while chasing a paltry target of 176 runs.
India lost the Test by 63 runs, which did not go down well with another former cricketer Sunil Gavaskar, who felt the team should play cricket rather than that aggressive talk. Virat Kohli and team director Ravi Shastri, prior to the Test series, spoke about playing aggressive cricket against Sri Lanka.
Azad believes that Shastri is only good with words, which does not help India win matches. "Shastri is a great talker, but talking alone does not deliver results," Azad wrote in his column for DNA India.
The former Indian cricketer also does not believe that Shastri is the right person to take over as the coach of the Indian team, which is going to be announced before the home series against South Africa this October.
The BCCI advisory committee, which includes the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly, has been given the key responsibility of finding the best person to coach the Indian team.
Azad feels these members have only met once to discuss about the next coach.
"What is the BCCI doing about finalising the head coach? I understand that the five wise men have met only once -- the shoe, it seems, is on the other foot. What is the BCCI doing about finalising the head coach? I understand that the five wise men have met only once -- the shoe, it seems, is on the other foot," added Azad.
Ravi Shastri is one of the leading contenders for the job, more so after Indian Test captain Virat Kohli voiced his opinion favouring the current team director as the next coach.
However, Azad considers former skipper Rahul Dravid as the best choice amongst the Indian choices for the job of chief coach. Dravid is currently the coach of the India A team.
"The BCCI and the five wise men have to exhibit guts and show a larger relevance rather than being goody goody. They have the stature to do it, and they should do their duty fearlessly, in cricket's long-term interest. Dravid is the best choice amongst Indians and he can straightaway be given the job," Azad said.
