Shastri’s move comes after Kumble appointed as coach of the Indian team.
By Sreekanth A. Nair
The former Indian cricket team director Ravi Shastri resigned from the Cricket Committee of the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Friday. Shastri has been holding the post of media representative for six years.
“I have already submitted my resignation. There are personal commitments and I have been there for six years,” Shastri told PTI.
Anil Kumble, who was appointed as the coach of Indian cricket team, is the chairman of ICC’s cricket committee. The cricket advisory committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had overlooked Shastri to appoint Kumble as the chief coach.
But, reports say that appointment of Kumble as the coach has no connection with Shastri’s decision to quit his position. He had discussed the matter with ICC chairman Shashank Manohar and expressed his desire to quit much earlier.
Former captain of the Indian team wanted to take a break from his administrative positions in the ICC where he has been holding important positions for quite a long time.
Shastri’s commitments with TV channels as commentator, columnist, and cricket expert have compelled him to leave ICC cricket committee. Due to his media commitments, he had not attended the meeting of the committee in June in Lords.
But, there are speculations that Shastri is yet to come to terms with his rejection by the cricket advisory committee following which he had an argument with the committee member Sourav Ganguly.
Shastri had alleged that Ganguly was not present at the meeting when he was being interviewed. He termed Ganguly’s absence “disrespectful.”
Replying to his comments, Ganguly said, If Ravi was so serious about the job, he should have been in Kolkata for an interview rather than appearing through Skype while holidaying in Bangkok.
“Just like Sourav, Ravi is also an emotional man at one level. He is yet to come to terms with rejection. Since he became a media representative as BCCI nominee, probably, he is not willing to continue in that post. Also with Kumble expressing his opinion to continue as chairman, it might just be uncomfortable for both of them to sit in a meeting,” a BCCI source told PTI.
It is also reported that the ongoing annual conference of the ICC may discuss replacement of Kumble as the chairman of the cricket committee as his obligations are too high after being appointed as the chief coach of India.
But Kumble has expressed his desire to continue as the chairman of the committee.