If We Win The T20 World Cup, That Will Be The Icing On The Cake- Ravi Shastri Hopes to Go Out On A High

Indian team head coach Ravi Shastri has stated that he has achieved everything he would have hoped to when he took the coaching role. He believes that winning the upcoming T20 World Cup will be a fitting way for him to step down from his position.

Shastri’s contract runs out at the end of the T20 World Cup. He has confirmed that he has no intention of continuing now that he has over-achieved with the Indian team. Speaking to Guardian, the 59-year-old confirmed that he won’t be overstaying his welcome.

“I’ve achieved all I wanted. Five years as No.1 in Test cricket, to win in Australia twice, to win in England. We’ve also beaten every country in the world in their own backyard in white-ball cricket. If we win the T20 World Cup, that will be the icing on the cake.”

“There is nothing more. I believe one thing – never overstay your welcome. And I would say that, in terms of what I wanted to get out of the side, I’ve over-achieved. To beat Australia away and lead the series in England in a Covid year? It is the most satisfying moment of my four decades in cricket,” Shastri said.

Ravi Shastri hopes to see less of bilateral T20 series in the future

Talking about the increasing workload of playing all three formats, Ravi Shastri hoped to see fewer T20 series in the future. He reckoned that the importance of Test cricket is far more than T20 matches.

“There is enough franchise cricket. That is working. But what is the point of bilateral? In my seven years with this Indian team, I don’t remember one white-ball game. If you win a World Cup final you will remember it and that’s the only thing left for me as a coach. Otherwise, you bloody cleaned up everything across the globe.”

“I don’t remember a single white-ball game. Test matches? I remember every ball. Everything. But the volume is too much. We beat Australia 3-0 in the T20 series. We beat New Zealand 5-0 in New Zealand. Who cares? But beating Australia in two-Test series in Australia? Winning Tests in England? I remember that,” Shastri added.

Under Shastri, India has reached the pinnacle in Test cricket. However, a minor blemish that will remain on his resume is that the team wasn’t able to win a single ICC trophy during his tenure.

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