India have retained head coach Ravi Shastri.

New Zealander Mike Hesson and Australian Tom Moody were in contention for the post, but Shastri’s contract has been extended to 2021. India’s Robin Singh and Lalchand Rajput were also interviewed for the job.

‘We gave marks out of 100. There was a difference of very small numbers, which amazed us as well. Hesson and Moody were very good too. Finally, we gave our marks to Shastri. We gave our independent marking and Shastri came on top,’ said lead member of the cricket advisory committee Kapil Dev.

Candidates for Shastri’s support staff will be interviewed next week.

‘The cricket advisory committee has given us a letter expressing their willingness to be involved in the selection process of the support staff. We will forward it to the committee of administrators,’ said Board of Control for Cricket in India chief executive officer Rahul Johri.

Captained by batsman Virat Kohli, India are currently involved in a five-ODI series against the West Indies in the Caribbean. This will be followed by two Tests. They will host the Proteas for three T20Is and as many Tests in September and October.

‘I’ve seen Virat batting across all conditions in all formats. It’s not just about averages, it’s the way you get runs, when you get it and the impact those runs have on what the team does. I would safely say he’s the best batsman in the world now,’ said Shastri.

Kohli and Shastri’s team suffered a semi-final loss to New Zealand in the 2019 World Cup.

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