WATCH: When a young Ravi Shastri was caught drinking during his U-19 cricket days

Ravi Shastri is currently the head coach of Team India.

Ravi Shastri | Twitter

Indian cricket team head coach Ravi Shastri loves drinking and partying. "Play hard, party harder," says Shastri and he followed it ardently too during his cricketing days.

Recently, appearing in the show Breakfast with Champions, he revealed an unknown story from his U-19 cricket days.

In a chat with Gaurav Kapur, Shastri talked about the incident when he was caught drinking with his friends. Instead of worrying after being caught, the 56-year-old explained how it doesn't matter one drinks or not as someone's character is defined by how he performs on the field.

“Play hard and part harder has been my philosophy for a long time. Once during my U19 days, the warden in charge caught us having a beer. He said he had to report this to the hierarchy and tried taking away the bottle which was only half complete. I called him up, put the beer in the glass, handed him the bottle and sent him,” Shastri recalled.

“When I was summoned regarding this incident, I told them one simple thing. ‘I drink beer with the man I respect the most, my father. If you see any effects of this on the field, pull me up, you have the right to do so’. I said to not judge me on what I drink, but how I perform on the field,” he added.

Shastri was appointed as Indian coach after the rift between team India’s coach Anil Kumble and Captain Virat Kohli, Kumble soon resigned from the post as the head coach of the Indian cricket team. Days after the news broke, several former cricketers were seen applying for the post including the team’s ex-director, Shastri. Virat had always liked his company.

 
 

By Sihyeu Singh - 29 Jun, 2018

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