Ishant Sharma, the Indian pacer, has revealed the unique way Ravi Shastri used to motivate his players during his time as head coach of the Indian team.

He used the 2015 send-off ban he received after taking the wicket of Upul Tharanga as evidence that Shastri was a "pin" to his "charger." Ishant claimed that after a "heated" day, the coach informed him that he still "bloody should be angry" after he had calmed down.

“I was once banned from a Test match. The Test match that I was banned from in Sri Lanka—things got heated up there. Ravi Shastri was our coach in 2015. Everything happened, and while we were having breakfast the next morning, he came up to me and said, ‘Sharm, are you still angry?’. I said, ‘No, Ravi bhai.’ He said, ‘Bloody, you should be angry,’” Ishant told Padamjeet Sehrawat in a YouTube show.

Ishant said that the best thing about Ravi Shastri’s coaching style was that he knew what buttons to press in players to get the best out of them.

“The one special thing about his coaching that I felt was that he knew how to get the performances out of a player. He knew when I was angry, and when he saw that I was a bit nervous or had doubts, he would let out a line like that, like a pin, and I would be charged up. He was my charger," Sharma said.

In addition to sending Tharanga out, Ishant struck his head in celebration of Chandimal's wicket because he was upset about fights with Dhammika Prasad, Dinesh Chandimal, and Lahiru Thirimanne. He was absent from India's opening Test match in Mohali against South Africa.

Ishant added that Delhi teammates Gambhir and Virender Sehwag were his biggest supporters.

“There have been different seniors at different stages. When I was playing Ranji Trophy, Gautam Gambhir supported me the most. Then Virender Sehwag. When I played for India, there were so many big names in the dressing room that you were unsure about whom to speak to. You wanted someone with you when you were having a meal in places like Australia and South Africa," he added.

Ishant Sharma, who last played for India in 2021, has taken 311 wickets in 105 Tests, 115 wickets in 80 ODIs, and 8 wickets in 14 T20Is. He was part of India’s 2013 Champions Trophy win and their maiden Test series win in Australia in 2018-19.