“Mr Shastri has been the Team Director in the past, and brings with him a wealth of experience, both as player and as coach”

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Ravi Shastri has officially been unveiled as India’s new head coach until the conclusion of the 2019 World Cup.

Shastri, who was India’s team director between August 2014 and April 2016, was the best candidate for the job in the eyes of the Cricket Advisory Committee, which is comprised of Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman.

Virender Sehwag, Tom Moody, Richard Pybus and Lalchand Rajput were also interviewed for the role.

“Mr Shastri has been the Team Director in the past, and brings with him a wealth of experience, both as player and as coach,” the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said in a statement.

Meanwhile, left-arm seamer Zaheer Khan will be India’s bowling consultant and Rahul Dravid, who coaches India A and the country’s Under-19 squad, will be the team’s batting consultant during overseas tours.

The BCCI confirmed that Zaheer and Dravid’s services will be retained for the same period of time as Shastri’s.

“The term of the appointments will be till the World Cup 2019,” the board said.

Shastri had applied for the position of head coach last year, but he lost out to Anil Kumble.

When the BCCI advertised the job prior to the Champions Trophy, Shastri was not among the original candidates that applied. Instead, he put his name forward after Kumble resigned and the BCCI reopened the application process.

Shastri, Zaheer and Dravid’s first assignment will be India’s tour of Sri Lanka, which starts on July 26 in Galle.