'If I ever go there, it will be precisely for..': Ravi Shastri on possibly coaching an IPL franchise

After winning the World Cup as a player, Ravi Shastri, the former head coach of India, hasn't ruled out the possibility of heading an Indian Premier League (IPL) side someday. He stated that, rather than coaching for financial benefit, he would like to do so in order to develop emerging talent in the nation, even if he does not intend to accept the position right away.

Shastri expressed his excitement for coaching up-and-coming players and commended the wealth of potential in India in an interview with R Ashwin on Ashwin's YouTube channel. He stated that he opted to take a vacation from the dressing room environment once his national coaching tenure ended in 2021 and declined to accept an IPL coaching position immediately. When questioned about the potential of joining an IPL franchise after 2021, Shastri stated that he has not ruled it out. He said: 
 

"Not really. Not after doing India for 7 years. You never know what can come up in the future and how involved you are going to get," 

“You know, there is no doubting the experience you have and what you can bring to the table, but after 7 years with the Indian team, especially those times -- you were there -- the toughest time that game has seen since the World War II -- during Covid, quarantine and the bubbles, you just wanted ta break from the dugout, the dressing room and everything. The broadcasting and the mic gave me the freedom to express myself again. And have some fun,”

Ravi Shastri has eyes to work with the next generation of cricketers 

From 2017 until 2021, Shastri led the Indian national team as its head coach. He was quite successful during his time there and he became close associates with Virat Kohli, the captain at the time. Additionally, he was instrumental in turning India into a strong Test squad, especially while playing on foreign soil. He added: 

"You don't rule that out. Once you have been involved with the game and played the game and you wanted to contribute to the youth, then that will always linger in your mind. It's not just the money part of it, but also the contributing factor. How you can get into the heads of the young kids and pass on the knowledge you have before you forget it yourself?

"If I ever go there, it will be precisely for that reason. Not to see the superstars carrying on the way they are, but to cultivate, identify and groom talent, and take them through the roof.

"I will enjoy it because the spread is so much these days, they have complexes, they have language barriers and challenges culturally. And then get them together to play fearless cricket and ruthless cricket is my cup of tea. So never discount that, it would always be the case when you are handling youngsters,"