Indian cricket team head coach Ravi Shastri believes that the Indian cricket team can perform well in the Test cricket in outside the Asian soil.

Recently, the Indian cricket team has performed well in the limited-overs formats outside the Asian soil. Shastri believes that they can carry forward this improving performance in the red-ball cricket.

In an interview to ESPNcricinfo, Shastri said, “We have done exceptionally well in white-ball cricket. We showed some very good signs in South Africa as far as the red ball is concerned. We want to carry that forward. The challenge for us is to be consistent in the red-ball format overseas. We believe we have the potential to be one of the best travelling teams. At the moment, there is no side in the world that travels properly. You can see what is happening to South Africa in Sri Lanka. We know our scorelines in England before this tour: 4-0 [2011], 3-1 [2014]. We want to do much better than that.”

Shastri feels that the players’ experiences can provide the big advantage for the team.

The Indian team coach said, “A lot of players have been to England before. A lot of them have learned a lot in the last few years, playing as a unit. I see that as a big advantage as opposed to coming with a brand new side.”

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Shastri has ruled out when he was asked if India will get the home-kind advantage of the present abnormally hot weather in England.

The former Indian cricketer said, “The square will be different, the outfield will be different and the weather conditions will be different to back in India. But whatever the conditions, the balls moves in England. In South Africa we played on some spicy tracks. We have to adapt to those 22 yards. We adapted better than South Africa in Johannesburg and we won that Test. They won a couple of sessions more than us in the first two Tests and won two Tests.”

Shastri believes the start is very important to get success in the outside the Asian soil. He believes the first 20-25 overs provide the crucial impact on the teams.

He said, “That ([the start] is a must anywhere you go overseas, especially England, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. The first 20-25 overs are extremely crucial. If you can come through that period (unscathed) then you get a set a good platform. Understanding your role, understanding what the team needs in those 20 overs, the discipline needed to see off those 20 overs and make sure you lose as few wickets as possible. Then you set up the game because we have enough ammunition in the middle order and lower order to take the game forward.”

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The first Test of the five-match Test series between the hosts England and the visitors India will begin on Wednesday (August 1) at Edgbaston (Birmingham). India’s main concern about the opening slot as Shikhar Dhawan has recently failed in the three-day warm-up game against Essex where he scored two ducks in both innings.

Talking about the opening slot, Shastri said, “Yesterday morning [the first day of the warm-up match against Essex], if you get those conditions [fresh green pitch, new ball seaming and swinging], I don’t care who the opening batsman is – it is tough. On such mornings you need your slice of luck, but you have to be prepared to go through the grind, like M Vijay did in that period of play.

“You could nick one any time, but you have to get that mental discipline that, yes, the pitch will ease out after lunch and that will make the job for the other players in the team easier. So my role is that even if I get 20-25 runs, if I have seen the team through that early period to make it easier for someone else, I have done a lot. It is about playing the conditions. It is very important you see the tough period through.”

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Talking about KL Rahul, Shastri has revealed that he has been picked as the third opener but also added that he can play anywhere in the top four.

Shastri said, “He (KL Rahul) has been picked as the third opener. But our batting order will always be flexible. The third opener can play anywhere in the top four. We are a very, very flexible outfit. Be prepared for that. We will surprise you guys at times.”

While Indian Test specialist batsman Cheteshwar Pujara is currently not in form, Shastri believes the experienced batsman is just an innings away from his big score. Shastri mentioned Pujara as one of the pillars of this Indian batting line-up.

The Indian coach said about the top-order right-handed batsman, “He’s an extremely experienced player. I feel he is one innings away [from a big score]. He needs to spend time at the crease. If he gets one 60-70 under his belt, he will be a different player altogether. My job is to make sure he is thinking in that fashion. Pujara is an anchor. He has been one of the pillars of this batting line-up for a long time. You know what he does – he loves batting. We just want him to do it. Unfortunately, in South Africa he was run out a couple of times. That is something we don’t want. We don’t want him to be an Usain Bolt, we want to him to be Pujara. Stay there at the crease. The last thing you want to do is give your wicket away to a run-out,”

Shastri feels the recently concluded ODI series could be different if their main pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar had been fully fit. Though both are unavailable at least for the first Test, Shastri believes they have still enough options in the bowling attack.

Shastri said, “You have to try other people out. If Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar had been fully fit in the one-day series, it would have been a different ball game altogether. We would have both of them fully fit for the entire Test series. It would have given me selection headaches. There is still enough experience and variety in our bowling attack – whether it is pace, spin, or Hardik (Pandya) filling in as a fast-medium bowler. There are enough options there.”

Shastri also believes that Indian tall right-arm pacer Ishant Sharma has done brilliantly in the recent overseas tours. Shastri also mentioned Sharma’s brilliant performance in the Lord’s Test in 2014 where India won the Test by 95 runs, thanks to Sharma’s 7/74 in the fourth innings on the final day.

Shastri concluded, “Ishant Sharma has done brilliantly in Sri Lanka. He did outstandingly in that Test match in Johannesburg where he bowled his heart out. He might not have taken a five-for, but he kept the bloody pressure on South Africa all the time. That is his role. He is experienced. He wants to be a spearhead. He has taken more wickets than anyone else amongst the fast bowlers. He will remember his seven-wicket haul at Lord’s in 2014, which played a big hand in the win. Those are the memories that will run through his mind when he gets the ball in hand.”