Shastri wants India to play "fearless" cricket

Dravid has been appointed captain for the tours of Bangladesh and England despite India's dire World Cup.

"I might be the cricket manager of this team for this tour of Bangladesh but the real boss is Rahul Dravid," Shastri told the BBC Asian Network.

"That's how it should be - I always believe that in cricket the captain's the boss."

India crashed out of the World Cup at the group stage after defeats by Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Coach Greg Chappell subsequently resigned, with former all-rounder Shastri, who has pledged to get India playing "fearless" cricket, taking the reins on a temporary basis.

I'm not the kind of guy for one minute who will say Greg Chappell didn't do a job - I think he's done a magnificent job Temporary manager Ravi Shastri

"They allowed the pressure to get to them at the World Cup and didn't play to their potential - these are things which will have to be addressed," he said.

When asked about possible changes in the India team Shastri said: "That will have to be discussed with the selectors and the captain, Rahul, will have his own ideas.

"There is a lot of cricket to be played in the next 12-14 months.

"I'm sure the board of control will keep an eye on the fitness of the players.

"I can't see 15 players playing the amount of cricket that India has to play in the next 12 months doing the job because they will be on their knees - you've got to have a pool of around 25 players.

"The important thing is you've got to keep the players hungry and you've got to make sure they're fresh every time they play for India."

Shastri refused to be drawn on the persistent rumours of a rift within the India camp, saying: "I'm not bothered.

I still believe there's a lot of talent in India and it's just about getting things right on the given day Ravi Shastri

"I don't dwell on the past and I don't dwell too much on the future. My job is to focus on the present and make the guys live in the present."

And when he was asked if it had been a mistake to appoint Chappell as coach Shastri replied: "I wouldn't like to dwell on that at all.

"I think Greg had some solid qualities and he'll be most disappointed that things didn't come off - I'm sure the boys would have learned a lot from him.

"I'm not the kind of guy for one minute who will say Greg Chappell didn't do a job - I think he's done a magnificent job.

"I think the BCCI realise it and that's the reason why he's being offered a position to be a consultant to the national academy.

"When I was asked to do this job I said very clearly to one and all that a good team cannot become a bad team in two weeks and a good team cannot be a brilliant team in two weeks.