Ravi Shastri, the outgoing India coach, hoped India would make a strong comeback under Rahul Dravid in the next ICC T20 World Cup 2022 in October. However, India failed to reach the semifinals of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 after suffering defeats against Pakistan and New Zealand in the Super 12 matches.
Outgoing head coach Ravi Shastri feels his successor Rahul Dravid has inherited a “great team” and backed him to raise the bar with his wealth of experience as a player and coach.
Ravi Shastri Opens Up On Challenges In The Bio Bubble
The 2021 T20I World Cup game against Namibia was Ravi Shastri’s last day in the office as the head coach.
“Let’s be honest, I am not here to make excuses. We lacked daring in the second game against New Zealand. “I know the toss was important and I do feel it will be important, not as much now because the weather has cooled down a bit.”
“It is something for the boys to learn, they will get an opportunity next year. It is not often you have World Cup in 12 months, hopefully, they will kick some butt next year in Australia,” Shastri said in the post-match press conference.
Ravi Shastri also talked about the challenges of staying in bio-bubble, saying that even a great batter like Sir Don Bradman would see his average come down if asked to stay in bubbles for a long period of time.
“When you are six months in the bubble, there are lots of players in this team who are all-format players. In the last 24 months, they have been home for 25 days.”
“I do not care who you are, if you’re name is Bradman and you are in a bubble, your average will come down because you are human. It is not something you put petrol in the backside and expect the guy to move on,” said Ravi Shastri during a virtual post-match press conference.
“It does not happen that way. These are tough times, in life, it is not what you accomplish, it is what you overcome and this is what this team has shown. “They have shown the drive to hang in there. No complaints but sooner or later the bubble will burst, so you have to be careful,” Ravi Shastri added.
When asked whether he reached out to the BCCI in order to get a break for his players, Ravi Shastri said: “That is not my job, it was already done. Big administrators around the globe will be looking to have gap before big tournaments so that guys are mentally fresh and ready to play.”
“Everyone was free to speak, no one player was treated as a junior and it has been one heck of a journey for me.”
Talking about his tenure as the head coach, Ravi Shastri said: “I mean just the quality of cricket this team has played in the last five years across all formats.”
Under Ravi Shastri’s tenure, India beat Australia in Australia twice in the Test series, led England 2-1 in England and won limited-overs matches, series almost everywhere in the world.
Ravi Shastri: The Performance Are There For Everyone To See
Ravi Shastri agreed that not winning an ICC tournament – the closest they came was the final of the World Test Championship, which they lost to New Zealand – was a disappointment with this team but added that the cricketers will get more opportunities in the future to fulfil the dream.
“The performances are there for everyone to see, when you perform in that fashion, when you go across the globe and beat teams then you know you are part of one great cricket team. I am not saying a great Team India, I am saying great cricket teams in the history of the game because if you look at those performances, they do not happen often.”
“You need to have bunch of players who are fit, hungry, fearless and they have the hunger and belief. If you want the real highlights, nothing beats Australia, England — we are up in that particular series. It will be the longest time we will up in the series, I might be commenting on that game. But, everywhere we beat teams. All-round it has been fabulous,” he added.
Ravi Shastri achieved back-to-back Test series wins in Australia in his tenure but an ICC trophy eluded him and skipper Virat Kohli. Ravi Shastri also heaped praise on outgoing bowling coach Bharat Arun and fielding coach R Sridhar, whose tenures too ended with the team’s World Cup campaign.
Rahul Dravid’s first assignment will be the home series against New Zealand, starting on November 17, for which BCCI is likely to announce a new T20I captain as the 2021 T20I World Cup was Virat Kohli’s last as India’s shortest format leader.