Indian cricket team head coach Ravi Shastri feels the historic 2-1 Test series victory in Australia is India’s biggest achievement in cricket history, even bigger than the 1983 Cricket World Cup.
All-rounder Ravi Shastri was in the Indian cricket team when India won the 1983 Cricket World Cup. Moreover, he was the Player of the Tournament award winner during India’s victory in 1985 World Championship of Cricket.
However, after the present Indian cricket team becoming the first Asian team to win the Test series on the Australian soil, the present Indian head coach Shastri claimed that it is his biggest achievement.
In the post-match press conference, Shastri said, “I will tell you how satisfying it is for me. World Cup 1983, World Championship of Cricket 1985 this is as big, or even bigger, because it is in the truest (Test) format of the game. It’s Test cricket, which is meant to be the toughest.”
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Shastri was also asked to share some experiences of working with many Indian captains but he wanted to remain in present.
He said, “Past is history, future is a mystery. We have won today after 71 years and I’d like to live in the present. And salute my captain for being the captain of the team that beat Australia for the first time in Australia in a series.”
Shastri also feels that Kohli is more passionate Test cricketer than anyone.
Praising the Indian captain, the head coach said, “I don’t think anyone plays Test cricket with more passion than he does. At least I don’t see any other international captain coming close to him on the field when it comes to showing that passion needed to play the game.
“He is very expressive, which is different to others. Other captains could have different personalities but Virat is someone who is in your face and it rubs off on all the youngsters who are watching the game in India.
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“His entire team that watches him, they want to emulate him. And to believe that they can be someone like him who can go out there and strive for excellence. So, when an individual puts his neck on the line as captain, then the others follow.
“And you have seen that transition happening over the last two-three years where guys in the team have become more and more confident, about their own ability and the ability of the team as well and it’s made all the difference.”
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Shastri also revealed that they started their preparation for this Test series from January 2018 during the South Africa tour. He further added that their learning from the South Africa and England tours have helped them to win this historic Test series.
The head coach said, “This tour didn’t start in Australia. This tour started 12 months ago in South Africa, where we said there’s a certain brand of cricket that we are going to play, we will experiment with combinations, find out what suits the team the best and take it forward from there.
“We learnt a lot in South Africa and we learnt a lot in England. We made mistakes, which we didn’t make in this series. We learnt from those mistakes and fired it home properly. So, the most satisfying part of this was it was a team that was working over those last 12 months.”
Talking about the crucial moments of the series which helped them to dominate the series, Shastri pointed out both the batting and bowling moments.
He said, “What we learnt is to seize the important moments. Going back to the first Test when we were 40/4, or 70/4 or 80/5, from thereon to reach 250, you knew deep down that could have a huge impact on the series.
“Similarly, taking wickets in Melbourne with Jasprit Bumrah going through that spell when he was hot, and you know taking six wickets on the trot. Those are the kind of sessions that could be crucial.”
Many experts believe that the 4-1 home favours scoreline during the Test series in England tour was not the best indicator of how that series ran. Shastri pointed out that to failing to dismiss the lower-orders cheaply was their major negative point to lose that England series.
He said, “In England, we lost it because the lower order often got runs against us. When we could have bowled out England much more cheaply, we didn’t do it. Here at least, we managed to do that. So that can be a big difference.
“And in fact, our lower order when least expected got runs, so that made the difference with the opposition. If anyone tells me that this Australian attack is not quite there, put your pads on and go and play them, you will find out.”
The Indian head coach also praised the newcomers who mostly have impressed during the Test series in the Australia tour.
Shastri said, “Why abroad? Test cricket. Period. If Kuldeep can deliver like that, if he can improve, there could be a permanent place for him, for all you know. That’s what we have done with this team. You mentioned Bumrah. You see Hanuma Vihari. You see Rishabh Pant. You see Mayank Agarwal. These are guys who have got opportunities this year.
“There is Prithvi Shaw, who got an opportunity; unfortunately, he is injured, but as many as six players have broken into the ranks. You don’t see that many coming through in a year in an established team that is ranked number one. We have given the opportunities, and it is up to the guys to grab it.”
