Perks of having Ravi Shastri as Team Director

“This is where I am a bit concerned with the Virat Kohli-Ravi Shastri partnership. That the Indians are not trying to tone their behavior down after Australia, and have got into ugly confrontations with even a team like Sri Lanka, tells me that they don’t see these actions as misdemeanors at all”.

Ever since Virat Kohli has taken over captaincy from MSD, a new found energy and free flowing ebb has marked what can be called the surmise of a new generation of Indian cricket. Riding on Virat’s aggressive leadership, India managed to win a Test Series in Lanka after 22 years after being 1-0 down in the 3 match series, which simplify exemplifies the heights the team can reach under him.

But the one person who silently provided valuable mentor-ship and guidance is the team director- Ravi Shastri.  He has truly lifted the spirits of the young guns and brought the energy right from the comm box into the dressing room. Ravi has been the Team’s Director since 2014 and since then he has a clear goal for the team and that is “Play Hard”. He is not ready to take a step back and so as the team.

For the Bangladesh tour Shastri agreed to continue as the Team’s Director and has been doing a fine job since. Captain Virat Kohli quoted a couple of weeks ago-“We would love to have him on board even if he is doing the same job right now. Just to have him around the group is a massive boost for us. To have him around the group in some way would be lovely. To have the head coach or who to have and what to do about is all part of the discussion when we sit down,”. 

Clearly Kohli does want Shastri to be there with the team as he knows he is the only person in current scenario who can understand his form of cricket and channel his decisions in a more sound direction.

Despite the controversial Ishant Sharma incident, there weren’t any other significant questionable decisions in the whole series. That one incident raised a few eye brows, Sanjay Manjrekar being one of them. “Maybe those words – ‘fearless’ and ‘aggression’ – have been drilled too deep into the players’ heads, and if that’s the case, the Kohli-Shastri combine needs to tone down a bit”, reckoned Manjrekar.

“This is where I am a bit concerned with the Virat Kohli-Ravi Shastri partnership. That the Indians are not trying to tone their behavior down after Australia, and have got into ugly confrontations with even a team like Sri Lanka, tells me that they don’t see these actions as misdemeanors at all,” Manjrekar, who was in the commentary team during the Sri Lanka tour, said.

With all incidents kept aside, the need of the hour is to find someone who could take up the role of Coach. With none in sight, BCCI has decided to extend Shastri’s tenure till the T20 World Cup which is to be held in India next year. Based on the recommendations of the Cricket Advisory Committee, the tenures of the three assistant coaches – Sanjay Bangar, B Arun and R Sridhar – have also been extended till the same tournament.

A BCCI release stated that the advisory committee which comprises the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, board President Jagmohan Dalmiya and Secretary Anurag Thakur acknowledged the performance of the supporting staff and hence they decided to extend the tenure.

In his recent column Shastri spoke his heart out as he said, “Let me tell you one thing: I am a guy with my own mind. And I am my own man. What people speculate and what the perceptions are, I have no right in stopping them from thinking or perceiving what they want. My job is to get out there and give my best for the game of cricket and, in particular, for the BCCI because they are my guardians. I don’t make any bones about that. I don’t care what the world thinks.”

At present he is the best choice. He is getting the support of ex-players as well as the senior members of the team. Dravid in his recent column on ESPN Cricinfo quoted, “I think Ravi Shastri and the team did a terrific job to bounce back in the series in the way they have after the disappointment in the first Test. When you lose like that after dominating a game for so much it can have a big impact on the team. I was worried for the series after that game, but the way they have come back in the second and third Tests has been a credit to all of them.”

With all the backing, he looks good to take the team to newer heights. This partnership will flourish as the time goes on. His knowledge and experience will prove to be very handy for the team in the near future. Let’s have faith on him, meanwhile allowing him to do his work without any shackles. Till the results are coming I see no harm in his aggression policy.