- Defending Disgraceful Pitches At Home:
To be quite frank, Shastri remains someone who likes authority and wants things going his way come what many. That was evident in the four-match Test series against South Africa in late 2015 at home. The nature of pitches used in that series was disgraceful, to say the least, as teams were witnessed crumbling within the matter of two sessions. The average first innings score in that series stood at a dismal level of just 193 for all completed innings. It wasn’t surprising to see matches being over within two and half days flat. The nastiest aspect, however, came when Shastri defended the use of such tactics and pitches just on the basis of using “home advantage”. The pitches were so down ridden, that they made even part-timers look like legendary spinners. It shouldn’t be surprising if India witnesses several such pitches in the future if Shastri is made the coach.