India’s cricket chiefs on Tuesday effectively sidelined head coach Duncan Fletcher for the one-day series against England following the side’s humiliating 3-1 defeat in the Tests.
India’s cricket council appointed former Test all-rounder Ravi Shastri to work alongside Fletcher for the one-day series, while the bowling and fielding coaches were given “a break”.
Shastri, who was in England as a television commentator, has been asked to join the squad as captain MS Dhoni’s men prepare for the five-match series starting on August 25.
“The BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) has decided to avail the services of former India captain Ravi Shastri to oversee and guide the team for the one-day matches against England,” the board said in a statement.
“Duncan Fletcher will continue as head coach, while Shastri will be the overall in-charge of cricket affairs of the Indian Team.”
The BCCI also “gave a break” to bowling coach Joe Dawes and fielding coach Trevor Penney and appointed former Indian Test players Sanjay Bangar and Bharat Arun in their place as assistant coaches.
Bangar is a coach with Indian Premier League team Kings XI Punjab while Arun has coached the Indian Under-19 and India A sides in the past.
“In the continuing efforts to re-energise the support to the team ... the BCCI has given a break to Dawes and Penney for the one-day series,” the statement said.
England on Sunday inflicted yet another humiliating defeat upon India as they won the fifth and final Test at The Oval by an innings and 244 runs to complete a 3-1 series win.
India’s spectacular series defeat has set off a flood of angry criticism at home, with some fans calling for Dhoni to go and others saying players should forfeit their wages.
The last innings of the Test series saw the team bowled out for 94 in 29.2 overs at The Oval.
The ODIs run from August 25-September 5 and will be followed by a T20 international on September 7.
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