Former Indian Cricketer Ravi Shastri has spoken to Arnab Goswami of Republic TV after stepping down from his role as Team India’s head coach. In the interview, Shastri gave his opinions on various topics relating to his tenure as the head coach of the Indian team and talked about the job satisfaction in spite of criticisms and constant public scrutiny.
Shastri said that he had been under public scrutiny for 7 years and now, it was time for him to have a seat the “judge’s chair” and judge some of those who had judged him.
#ShastriSpeaksToArnab | Former head coach of the Indian national cricket team, Ravi Shastri speaks to Arnab Goswami in an unmissable interview.
— Republic (@republic) November 12, 2021
Tune in to watch it here – https://t.co/jghcajZuXf pic.twitter.com/Ab4tOPUIbG
According to Shastri, the Indian team under his guidance had over-achieved in terms of achievements and that he was leaving as a satisfied coach. Ravi Shastri said that he was very relieved. He also said that it was “unreal” for the team to have achieved the things they did. He also said that he believes the team had ‘over-achieved ‘.
Shastri tried to explain the reason behind the heavy criticisms that the Indian team had received following T20 World Cup 2021 exit as, “In India, Cricket is a religion. You win 5 games and then when you lose, pistols and pens come out, and sometimes it’s acidic. You just got to take it on the chin. We won so much, people weren’t used to us losing,” adding, “To take the bullet is the job of the coach. You overcome all those hurdles, you don’t let it pull you down. You have to ensure the team gives their best. Take criticism along the way and move on.”
For Shastri, the Kohli led team was a transitional team and slammed the critics saying, “This was a young team in transition over the last 7 years. Many in the media didn’t know the potential of this team. I said that this was the greatest team and knew what I said and they lived up to it. They called my statements bold and bombastic. I have taken the bullet for 7 years”.
Shastri also said that the Indian team was “timid” during the match versus New Zealand and that Pakistan had played “outstandingly well” to beat India at the T20 World Cup.
Notably, this was Ravi Shastri’s fourth spell with the national team, having served earlier as the Cricket Manager, Team Director and head coach on various occasions. His second term began in 2019 and ended with India crashing out of the T20 World Cup in the Super 12 stage of the tournament.
