Why change a system that’s performing well, Glenn McGrath backs Ravi Shastri

While his country have their eyes keenly fixed on the Ashes series in England, McGrath is back in India – at the MRF Pace Academy in Chennai, to be precise. Soon, he will be joined by a bunch of emerging players from the Australian academy as well. In the meantime, The Hindu caught up with the legendary fast bowler to quiz him on some of the recent developments in Indian cricket, particularly the talk of a new head coach.

“The Indian team has been performing well under Kohli and Shastri. They get along well. Only this year India won its first ever Test series in Australia. If somebody asks me, I would say ‘why change?’. But eventually it is for the BCCI and the panel it has appointed to decide. It’s about what they want from the coach, the captain and the team,” McGrath told The Hindu. 

As per the reports, it seems that McGrath’s comments are in line with the three-member CAC panel. Anshuman Gaekwad, one of its members, was quoted saying that Shastri is most likely to keep his job.

Despite suffering a heart-break at the semi-final stage of the World Cup, the Men in Blue were arguably the best side at the tournament. McGrath agrees, and didn’t appear keen to add emphasis to an odd defeat.

“I thought India played well in the competition. It lost narrowly to New Zealand in the semifinal. The odd defeat can happen to any team,” he added.