Ravi Shastri reveals his 'toughest day' as Team India coach; 'state of shock for days'

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri recalled the 'toughest day' as Team India coach. Speaking to The Week, Ravi Shastri said that all team members were in a state of shock for days after they were dismissed for 36 runs in the second innings of the first Test of their tour of Australia (2020-21) and said that was the lowest point in his coaching career. 

"See, the coach is in the firing line; there is no choice. That is the quirk of the job. You have to be ready from day one. I knew there would be no escape routes. The 36 all out was the lowest point. We had nine wickets in hand (overnight) and then we were bundled out for 36. All that had to be done was to score 80-odd more runs (to be in the game). We were all numb. We were in a state of shock for days. How could that have happened?"

Ravi Shastri speaks about his relationship with Virat Kohli, his captaincy and more

When asked about his relationship with Virat Kohli he said that he and the player shared a similar mindset and that they had a lot of memories together including beating the Aussies Down Under "We are two people with a similar mindset. We have a similar wavelength. In 2014, when I first came in, there was only one big player—M.S. Dhoni. Who else was there? Who was superstar material? Virat, and maybe Rohit Sharma, in white-ball cricket. To see these two guys come through and become great players in red- and white-ball cricket, to have a great fast-bowling attack, to beat Australia in their backyard—there have been so many firsts with this team. It is overwhelming."

He also said that Virat Kohli is tactically sound and that he should be proud of whatever he and his team have achieved under his captaincy. "At the end of the day, he has been a tactically sound captain. Efficient. People will always judge you by results, or not by how you got the runs, but by how many runs you scored. He has evolved well; he has matured as a player. It is not easy being captain of the Indian team. He should feel proud of what he has achieved."

On further being asked if Virat Kohli was right in stepping down for T20I captaincy Ravi Shastri said "One hundred per cent. It has happened to the best. I remember Sunny (Gavaskar) giving up [captaincy] to concentrate on his batting; Sachin Tendulkar did the same to prolong his career"

Image: AP