BCCI appoints Bharat Arun as bowling coach, Sanjay Bangar to continue as assistant coach

New Delhi: Putting an end to all speculations, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday announced Bharat Arun as the new bowling coach of Team India.

Speaking at a press conference, BCCI joint secretary Amitabh Choudhary informed the mediapersons about the new support staff of the team under head coach Ravi Shastri.

Choudhary said that while Arun has been given a full-time role with the team until the closure of the 2019 Cricket World Cup, Sanjay Bangar will continue to serve as the assistant coach of the Indian team.

The four-member panel comprising Committee of Administrators (CoA) member Diana Edulji, CEO Rahul Johri, acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary and acting president CK Khanna, met in Mumbai this afternoon to pick the support staff.

After being appointed as the head coach recently, Shastri put forth the name of Arun for the position of bowling coach. It didn't come as a surprise as the duo had previously worked together during Shastri's two-year long stint as the Team Director of the national squad.

When asked about the roles of Rahul Dravid and Zaheer Khan, both Choudhary and Shastri said that their inputs will be valuable.

"I was clear in my head about my core team. And what you just heard is my core team," Shastri told reporters after the announcement by the BCCI in his presence.

The media conference took place after Shastri met the newly-formed four-member BCCI committee for the purpose of deciding the coaches, comprising acting President C.K. Khanna, acting Secretary Amitabh Choudhary, Committee of Administrators (CoA) member Diana Edulji and board CEO Rahul Johri.

Shastri's remarks on Tuesday left it unclear on the roles of former India stalwarts Rahul Dravid and Zaheer Khan who were announced as overseas batting and bowling consultants respectively by the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), comprising Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and V.V.S. Laxman.

(With IANS inputs)