Fletcher should have been sacked!

Instead of sidelining coach Duncan Fletcher, the BCCI, says Harish Kotian/Rediff.com, should have dismissed him.

With the Board of Control for Cricket in India making some changes in the coaching structure for the Indian team following the debacle in England, the countdown for Duncan Fletcher's exit may have begun.

Though he continues to be the head coach, a BCCI statement on Tuesday named Ravi Shastri as team director for the ODI series in England. Shastri 'will be the overall in-charge of Cricket affairs of the Indian team,' the BCCI said.

This means Fletcher will report to Shastri.

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Another change is the appointment of new support staff for the ODI team, all of whom are Indian.

Fletcher's support staff -- bowling coach Joe Dawes and fielding coach Trevor Penny -- have been given a 'break' for the five-match ODI series, beginning August 25.

Former India all-rounder and Kings XI Punjab Chief Coach Sanjay Bangar, India Under-19 Coach Bharat Arun and Kings XI Punjab and India Under-19 Fielding Coach R Sridhar will take over.

The BCCI, which has contracted Fletcher till next year's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, seems to be losing patience with the Zimbabwean as the team continues to struggle overseas.

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Under Fletcher, who took over in April 2011, India have struggled in Tests, winning just 13 of 35 Tests played, for a victory percentage of 37.

India's overall Test record under Fletcher:

Under Fletcher India won just two out of 20 Tests played, for a victory percentage of 10.

Fletcher was hired to oversee India's transition following the retirement of several senior players, as he had done the same during his time with England.

India's record in away Tests under Fletcher:

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India have now lost three successive Test series against England, including one at home.

Earlier this year, they were comprehensively beaten in the Tests and ODI series in South Africa and New Zealand, and the Asia Cup, knocked out in the league stage of the tournament.

With a challenging tour of Australia coming up later this year and the World Cup to be played in Australia and New Zealand early next year, the BCCI has to make a call on Fletcher.

Nearly five months ago cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar had demanded Fletcher's head and asked for Rahul Dravid to be appointed in his place well before the World Cup.

'There has hardly been any improvement as a team,' Gavaskar had said in March. 'There has been no improvement of players individually. Somewhere this slide needs to be stopped.'

After the 1-3 Test series loss to England, Gavaskar fired another salvo at Fletcher, stating the team's work ethic is not the same as it was under the previous coach, Gary Kirsten.

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Indian cricket could well benefit without a coach who could not even correct the technique flaws of the team's top two batsmen, Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara, during the five-Test series.

With such a coach at the helm, the Indian team's future appears bleak.

• India's report card: Kohli 1/10; Pujara 2/10; Bhuvneshwar 7/10

Should the BCCI have sacked Duncan Fletcher?

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