The Indian head coach, Ravi Shastri reckons that he had the best of his times during an Australia tour in the international cricketing calendar. As the tourists managed to level the series 1-1 after a phenomenal comeback win, it’s clear this trip has become a grind, with Tests in Sydney, beginning on Thursday, and Brisbane remaining.  But in a new book, India’s 71-Year Test — to be unveiled at the SCG on Wednesday, Shastri, the Indian great, writes about what it truly means to tour Australia.

Describing the same, Shastri said, “Of all countries I’ve toured, Australia has easily been the best. The quality of cricket, the way they play the game, the world-class facilities, and the culture inspire a basic desire to win against a great sporting nation with a tremendous history and record. Listening to ABC commentary in my formative years, my mind was focused on doing well there.”

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The book, by cricket journalist R Kaushik, elaborates on India’s first 12 tours to Australia, and a lot of credit for the same goes to former Cricket Australia chairman Wally Edwards, who paid to have it researched, written, and published. It also features the Bradman Museum’s Holman Collection of historical press photographs, including about 50 from the former Fairfax Media archive, which was returned from storage in the US and donated to the Bradman Museum.

Recalling his first visit in 1985 for the World Championship of Cricket, Shastri emerged as the player of the match in his first match against the home team. India went on to win the title and Shastri was awarded an Audi for being the “Champion of Champions”. He also recalled the famous 1986 series and Tied Test when he was at the non-striker’s end when Maninder Singh was adjudged lbw in Chennai (Madras).

Shastri recalled, “It was a great shame that we didn’t travel to Australia as often during my playing days as now. My second, and last, Test tour was in 1991-92.”

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While the tourists were beaten by Allan Border’s team, Shastri had managed to a brilliant double-century at the SCG. He later returned as a broadcaster and, in 2014, as team director, but it was as a coach in the breakthrough 2018-19 campaign that resonates the greatest.

Ravi Shastri recalled, “In my stint as coach, we haven’t played Australia in India yet but we went Down Under, in 2018, we were absolutely brilliant. From experience, I can state emphatically that there is no such entity as a weak Australian side, especially in their own backyard. Anyone who thinks otherwise is uninformed. Australians hate losing, and it’s a thought process entertained not just by the 11 on the field, but the whole nation, the fans, and the media.”