Indian Cricket Team’s long-serving fielding coach R Sridhar has heaped praise on “fearless and honest” head coach Ravi Shastri after India’s historic and hard-fought Test series triumph over Australia.
Sridhar, an integral part of Team India, said Shastri’s motivational influence helped the injury-hit Indian team to battle adversity after adversity to achieve a historic Test win at The Gabba and retain Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia earlier this week.
He further said Ravi has done a lot of Indian cricket and a lot of credit goes to former India captain for one of the greatest Test series win ever, saying his words of wisdom helped the tourists turn their fortunes around after the 36-all out in the Adelaide Test.
Sridhar said on Sports Today: “Ravi (Shastri) has done a lot for the Indian cricket team and it shouldn’t take one of the greatest Test series ever to literally credit Ravi Shastri for Indian cricket. He has done a lot before that and all of this led to this (victory).”
The fielding coach added, “He has been saying this from 2017, to take the pitch out of the equation, every ground is your home ground. He has been saying that in our dressing room, and I am sure he has said that in the media a few times. Like a parody, he has been repeating that for the last 4-5 years.
It took all the five years of repeating it to go to Gabba and play there as if it was our home turf, right in Australia’s backyard. Two words that come to mind with Ravi being at the helm for the last 5-6 years are, fearless and honest.
He said, no matter what you have to be fearless and honest on the ground. These are the two words that resonate and reverberate with Ravi around. He makes the boys feel like a million dollars even if they are not having the best of the series.”
Sridhar signed off, “He backs them when he goes and talks to them. Yes, he is also a normal human being and therefore gets angry when things don’t go well, but to bring that fearless into this young new generation of players, that is totally what Ravi Shastri has done.”
(With India Today Inputs)
