Mumbai: India captain Virat Kohli backed head coach Ravi Shastri to continue in his position as BCCI has invited fresh applications for the posts of Team India’s support staff.

On Monday (July 29), Kohli, addressing the media before the team’s departure to the Caribbean islands, was asked about Shastri. The support staff's contracts ended after the ICC World Cup 2019 but have got 45-day extension for the tour of West Indies.

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"Well, the CAC (Cricket Advisory Committee headed by Kapil Dev) has not contacted me on this. But all of us share a great camaraderie with Ravi bhai and would definitely be very happy if he continues. But as I had said, it's on the CAC to decide (how to go about it)," Kohli said.

As per procedure, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has invited applications from candidates to fill the positions to head coach, batting coach, bowling coach, fielding coach, physiotherapist, strength and conditioning coach and administrative manager.

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The current coaches (Shastri, batting coach Sanjay Bangar, bowling coach Bharat Arun, fielding coach R Sridhar) will get an “automatic” entry, BCCI said. The deadline to apply is July 30. The interviews are likely to take place on August 13 or 14.

CAC, headed by former India captain Kapil Dev, will pick the new head coach while the national selectors will choose the rest of the support staff. Anshuman Gaekwad and Shantha Rangaswamy are the other two members in the three-member CAC.

India will head to West Indies to play three T20Is, three ODIs and two Tests, from August 3 to September 3. This will be the team's first overseas tour after the ICC World Cup 2019 where they finished as semi-finalists, losing to New Zealand.