Former India cricketer Ravi Shastri was with the Indian team since 2015, first in a team director role and then as a head coach from 2017-2021. He has seen India batting and outlook evolving a lot, and hence his big reveal about ‘stubborn’ Indian batters came like a bombshell.
Ravi Shastri was commentating during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 opening match between England and New Zealand in Ahmedabad on October 5. England was put into bat by Kiwi captain Tom Latham and they lost two early wickets, bringing Joe Root to the crease.
When Joe Root, a technically perfect batter, played a reverse ramp shot in the 12th over, Shastri praised the former England captain for evolving his game as per the teams’ needs and making necessary changes.
"Full credit to Root for adapting to what the team needs (after reversing scooping six). You get batters who are so stubborn. I speak from experience of sitting in a dressing room where a lot of players were hesitant to make a change because they're afraid of what they might lose,” Shastri said on commentary on Star Sports.
His on-air co-commentator Michael Atherton questioned whether the Indian players were disobedient, to which Shastri revealed that during his time as India coach, he had to nudge and push the Indian batters to try out new stuff and new shots, which are now common in modern era T20 cricket.
He said: "No, no. I had to push them to try something different. Because they are so used to accumulating those runs over the years. Sometimes you forget you have to evolve with the times. Because the opponent is evolving. He knows your game. He is upon you."
Though Ravi Shastri’s tenure as India's coach didn’t bore any ICC trophy as fruit, India was a monster in the bilateral series. He helped captain Virat Kohli revolutionize the team's pace battery as well as their overseas red-ball performances.
