The Story
Ravi Shastri has had a great start to his coaching stint. After the comprehensive win against Sri Lanka in the opening Test, Shastri, who is now a happy man, is busy plotting plans for the second Test which set to be hosted at the Sinhalese Sports Club.
The job has fell in his laps after a several rounds of controversies. He could contain his displeasure after getting overlooked in 2016 for the top job after having done an excellent job as team director for 18 months.
He is now back, armed with a two year contract, to spearhead Virat Kohli and boys.
Starting From Where I left…
In a recent interview with CricketNext, Ravi Shastri termed the decision to not appoint him in 2016 akin to cutting down a mango tree just as it was starting to bear fruit.
“I don’t call what I do coaching. I know I’ve been appointed coach, but it’s more fine-tuning, more man-management. It’s what a captain does, basically. It’s just an extension of that. All those qualities you need to be a really good captain come into play here.”
Shastri has a natural camaraderie with the players including Virat Kohli. They seem to like him very much. This support has helped the 55-year-old to get to know the players from within as no team member shies away from discussing ideas and problems with him.
“Some illustrious names have failed as coaches because they couldn’t inspire the same kind of trust as I do.”
“I’ve always believed that the dressing room is like a temple, church or mosque. What happens there stays there. It’s one place you can open your heart out as a player, and discuss things that you would not discuss anywhere else. And it’s just the players sitting there when that happens.”
“There has to be an element of trust. Without it, you go nowhere. The qualities of a good human being come into play here. The bottom line is that you have to come in without any agenda, or pre-conceived ideas. The focus has to be just on the job you’re entrusted with.”
Shastri’s natural demeanour which always prompts him to speak his mind has been visible from the day he took up the charge.
“When people say ‘congratulations on getting off to a winning start’, I ask them: What start? I’m just carrying on from where I left off, as simple as that. It was like walking back into a room and releasing the pause button. Nothing else.”
Clarity of role
Of late, there has been a constant debate surrounding the roles of captain and coach in the team set-up. The opinions have been varied. A few feel that captain should have a free hand whereas other assert that coach should be the leader of the pack.
Shastri, however, clear about the role of coaching and clearly points out a coach merely shows the directions while the captain performs the actions.
“It’s the most important thing. If there’s no communication and captain and coach are not on the same wavelength, it’s not going to happen. For me, it’s very simple. We [Virat Kohli and I] know each other. You know your roles.”
“The captain is the ultimate boss. He takes the team on to the park. Your job is to get them in the best frame of mind to go out and express themselves. Play a brand of cricket that’s fearless and enjoyable, not just for themselves, but for those watching. You can’t go out and field over there. Your job is to prepare them. After that, the captain calls the shots.”
Tough challenges ahead
Shastri will be facing tough challenged ahead with the tours of South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia beckoning after the highly successful home season.
“That’s the best part of this job now. The toughest cricket is coming up, but with that is the awareness that this team has a chance to do what no other Indian team has done – win a series in South Africa and Australia. These guys have got the wherewithal, the ammunition.”
Shastri completely writes off the intimidation factor and feels that the quality in the side will help them overcome the challenges.
“With the quality of players we have, if we get it right, we could do that. The last time we were in Sri Lanka, we won for the first time in 22 years. A lot of top Indian players didn’t win a series in Sri Lanka. Don’t put it past them to do something special in South Africa and Australia.”