Former India cricketer and current national team coach Ravi Shastri turns 57 years old today. Born in 1962 on May 27, Shastri plied his trade for Mumbai in domestic cricket and made his Test debut for India in 1981 against New Zealand.
He was part of the 1983 World Cup winning and 1985 World Championship of Cricket winning Indian teams and was the Man of the tournament in the latter event, which got him an Audi car as a prize. He was a vital part of the Indian team given his dependable batting and more than adequate left-arm spin. However, his career came to a premature end at the age of 30 due to knee issues in 1992.
Shastri in all played 80 Tests and 150 ODIs for India scoring 3830 and 3108 runs respectively and picking 151 and 129 wickets respectively in both formats. He then turned into a successful commentator, whose voice resonated as MS Dhoni hit the final winning six in 2011 World Cup, making India champion again after 28 years. He was appointed the director of the Indian team in 2014 and continued in the role till 2016.
He then became the head coach of the team after Anil Kumble stepped down and along with Virat Kohli has formed an absolutely world-beating team which is ranked no.1 in Tests, and no.2 in ODIs and are termed favorites to winning the 2019 World Cup.
On his 57th birthday, Shastri received wishes from all over the cricket fraternity and we have some of the best for you.
