Team India is currently locking horns with England in the first Test of the five-match series at Edgbaston in Birmingham. Indian skipper Virat Kohli lost the toss and was asked to bowl first by the English captain Joe Root on a moist wicket with a cloud cover as well. The visitors struggled to get wickets on an opening day and that is, perhaps, the reason why coach Ravi Shastri was seen napping while the players battled it out on the field.
After the lunch on Day 1, Indian cricket team head coach Shastri dozed off as he was caught on camera napping in the dressing room. He immediately became the butt of jokes on social media and was even trolled by Harbhajan Singh during the commentary.
A sleeping Shastri was played up on the television and Bhajji was quick to poke some fun at the former India all-rounder. He said, “Ravi Shastri having a nap there. Wake up, Ravi!” Team India batting coach Sanjay Bangar, who was seated next to Shastri in the dressing room, was wearing an earpiece and listening to the commentary. He soon got this request from Harbhajan: “Sanjay, can you convey my message to Ravi?”
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Bangar burst into a hearty laugh, and so did Ravi as he woke up eventually and heard from his fellow coach what Bhajji had to say. Twitterati, too, had a good time poking fun at Shastri. Here are some Twitter reactions:
— Hit wicket (@KetanPatil77) August 1, 2018
Ravi shastri is having a nap 🤣🤣
— Srikrishna 🏏🏀 (@1998Srikrishna) August 1, 2018
Wonder why fans want Ravi Shastri to wake up. It doesn't matter. He isn't a 'coach' who will watch the match keenly and think of strategies. He's just a Kohli 'Cheerleader' and 'Yes-Man'. We all know that it's Kohli who decides everything. #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/yMunN3QDgJ
— Aditya (@forwardshortleg) August 1, 2018
Day 1, First Test #ENGvIND — Pic of the day #Ravishastri pic.twitter.com/gvRnZy031i
— Prasad Ramasubramanian (@prassadrs) August 1, 2018
*What are your plans for the upcoming #CricketWorldCup2019?*
Ravi Shastri: pic.twitter.com/fsHYl53CWW
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) August 1, 2018
Talking about the team combination, Kohli gave a shocker at the toss when he revealed that Cheteshwar Pujara was dropped from the squad despite being a Test specialist. However, in the bowling department, Indian has gone with three pacers (Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, and Mohammed Shami), a spinner (Ravichandran Ashwin) and an all-rounder (Hardik Pandya).