Duncan Fletcher remains in charge, says Dhoni

MS Dhoni with Duncan Fletcher. — AP

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni insisted coach Duncan Fletcher was “still the boss” ahead of the forthcoming one-day series in England despite the upheaval in the tourists’ backroom staff.

England’s 3-1 win over India in the five-Test series saw Dhoni’s men suffer innings defeats in the final two matches.

That led Indian officials to bring in former all-rounder Ravi Shastri to “oversee” the team during a five-match one-day series starting in Bristol on Monday.

Meanwhile, fielding and bowling coaches Trevor Penney and Joe Dawes were both given a “break”. One-day world champions India defend their title in Australia and New Zealand early next year and Dhoni was adamant Fletcher would be in charge for that competition, even though the former England boss has overseen two losing Test tours of England with India following a defeat in 2011. But the Zimbabwean was also in charge when India beat hosts England in last year’s Champions Trophy final at Birmingham’s Edgbaston ground.

“Definitely, Duncan will lead us into the World Cup ... he is still the boss,” Dhoni told reporters in Bristol, south-west England, on Sunday.

“We have Ravi, who will look into everything, but Duncan Fletcher is the boss. It’s not as if his powers or his position have been curtailed ... still operations remain the same. We have a few other support staff who come into the dressing room, but overall the operation remains the same,” he added.