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India support staff set for longer run

Sanjay Bangar, B Arun and R Sridhar are expected to remain part of India's coaching staff until the World Cup

Amol Karhadkar
Amol Karhadkar
17-Sep-2014
Sanjay Bangar coached the India A team before taking on the role of assistant coach with the national side  •  BCCI

Sanjay Bangar coached the India A team before taking on the role of assistant coach with the national side  •  BCCI

Sanjay Bangar, B Arun and R Sridhar are expected to remain part of India's coaching staff until the World Cup. The trio were part of a rejig of the backroom personnel after the 3-1 loss to England in the Tests. A decision regarding Ravi Shastri's role of team director and Duncan Fletcher's as head coach will be made at the BCCI's working committee meeting on September 26. The popular opinion among the BCCI top brass though is that it would be too risky to change the coach with barely four months left for the World Cup.
ESPNcricinfo understands that Bangar, Arun and Sridhar have been hinted that they were in line to continue as assistant coaches and fielding coach upon their return from England. As a result, the Andhra Cricket Association, which had appointed Sridhar as their head coach for the coming domestic season, have made alternate arrangements for their team's support staff. A formal call will be made during the working committee meeting, which will also discuss Shastri's report.
The three of them were praised by Shastri after India ended their tour of England with a 3-1 series win in the ODIs. "All three of them have done an excellent job in the short period they have been given," Shastri had told ESPNcricinfo.
This could mean that Trevor Penney and Joe Dawes, who were given a break as fielding and bowling coach respectively, might no longer stay part of the coaching staff. Their contracts, though, run until the end of the world cup and a decision to terminate them or use them in other roles would also be taken at the meeting. One of the options being considered is to use Dawes and Penney as coaches at the National Cricket Academy at Bangalore.
The BCCI top brass are keen to retain Shastri as team director for the world cup, however Shastri himself is undecided over whether he wants to enjoy the tournament from the dressing room or commentator's box.

Amol Karhadkar is a correspondent at ESPNcricinfo