Under Ravi Shastri and Virat Kohli, the Indian cricket team did very well in Tests.© Twitter
Ravi Shastri’s tenure as head coach of the Indian cricket team from 2017 to 2021 saw several highs with two consecutive Test series wins in Australia. Shastri and Virat Kohli led India to their first Test series win in 2018-19, then the team also won their next tour to Australia in 2020-21. Both victories ushered in a new era of confidence for Team India, who later also qualified for the inaugural final of the World Test Championship. Shastri revealed in a recent interview how the winning mentality was built.
The members of the Australian cricket team have been known to indulge in mind games and sledding, and Shastri had a drug to deal with it when the Indians ran into them in two away games.
“…it was about attitude, especially when you were playing against the Aussies. I told the boys that if one ‘f*** you’ comes your way, give them three in return: two in our language and one in theirs,” Shastri, former Indian cricket team coach, told The Guardian in an interview.
Under Shastri and Kohli, the Indian team also leads 2-1 in a test series in England. The final Test of the 2021 series had to be postponed due to a COVID-19 outbreak in the Indian camp, with the last game of the five-match series to be played in July this year.
“How many teams can win in Australia – beating an attack with Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood from 1-0 behind – and then win in England? That will be hard for a team to match for a long time,” Shastri said.
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He went on to explain how an aggressive stance turned the Indian fast bowlers into a powerful unit.
“…we knew winning in Australia or England didn’t come with spin, they were fast bowlers, guys with aggression like Jasprit Bumrah. We got that guy to play test cricket. You don’t even need a fast pace, you need just need an attitude,” he said.
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