Shastri said that the Kuldeep comment made Ashwin do something different.
Ace Indian spinner R Ashwin had opened up about his career in recent times, and one of the topics he talked about was how crushed he felt when India coach Ravi Shastri had called left-arm chinaman Kuldeep Yadav the best overseas spinner the team had.
Ashwin was talking about the 2018-19 tour of Australia where India registered their maiden Test series win down under. The Tamil Nadu off-spinner played just the first Test of the four-match series and missed the remaining three due to fitness issues.
Kuldeep played in the Sydney Test of the series, which was the fourth match, and picked a five-wicket haul and only rain helped Australia save that encounter as India won the series 2-1.
Ashwin said he was genuinely happy for Kuldeep on taking a five-wicket haul in Sydney and he has a lot of respect for Shastri, but his comment crushed him horribly.
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“I hold Ravi bhai in high esteem. We all do. And I understand we all can say things and then retract them. In that moment, though, I felt crushed. Absolutely crushed. We all talk about how important it is to enjoy your team-mates' success. And I was happy for Kuldeep.
I have not been able to get a five-for but he has a five-for in Australia. I know how big it is. Even when I have bowled well (at other times), I haven't ended up with a five-for. So I am genuinely happy for him. And it's an extremely happy occasion, to win in Australia," said Ashwin to ESPNCricinfo.
Speaking on Ashwin’s comments made on him, Ravi Shastri said that he was happy if the off-spinner felt bad that he called Kuldeep Yadav the best overseas Indian spinner, as his statement made Ashwin do something different.
“Ashwin did not play the Test in Sydney and Kuldeep bowled well. So it’s fair I give Kuldeep a chance. If that hurt Ashwin, I am very happy. It made him do something different. My job is not to butter everyone’s toast. My job is to state facts without agenda,” Shastri said during the Express Adda organized by Indian Express.
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"If your coach challenges you, what will you do? Go home crying and say I won’t come back. I as a player would take it as a challenge, to prove the coach wrong. If my statement on Kuldeep hurt Ashwin, I am glad I made that statement. It made him do something different,” he added.
However, Shastri, who worked with Ashwin extensively during his tenure as director of the Indian team and then head coach, rated the tweaker as world-class.
He said: “The way Ashwin bowled in 2019 and the way he has bowled in 2021 is chalk and cheese. About throwing Ashwin under the bus, he need not worry because I had told the bus driver to stop 2-3 feet short. The message to Ashwin in 2018 was that he had to be fit. He has worked on that and look how's bowling now. He's world-class.”