In India, There Is Always Jealousy Or A Gang Of People Willing You To Fail - Ravi Shastri

Former Team India head coach Ravi Shastri revealed that he survived through his coaching career because of his thick skin and was completely averse to the people who wanted him to fail.

Shastri was the head coach of the Indian team for seven years and he failed to win an ICC trophy during this tenure. Nevertheless, he will go down as one of India’s best-ever coaches because of the team’s dominance across formats.

Speaking about the appointment of Rob Key as the new Managing Director of Cricket for England, Shastri drew on his own experience and elaborated on the difficulties.

“I didn’t have coaching badges [either]. Level one? Level two? **** that. And in a country like India, there is always jealousy or a gang of people willing you to fail. I had a thick skin, thicker than the leather of the Dukes ball you use. A real solid hide.”

“And you need a bloody hide over here. Rob will develop this as he does the job because every day you are judged. And I am glad he has a lot of captaincy experience from his time at Kent because communication with the players is absolutely paramount,” Shastri was quoted as saying to The Guardian.

“You have to be bullish and brutish in wanting to achieve success” – Ravi Shastri

Rob Key has the responsibility of turning around the Test cricket scenario in England. They are at their worst ever when it comes to the longest format of the game and Shastri explained what needs to be done.

“Rob may have more work with the domestic game but, when it comes to the national team, it is very similar. The most important thing is getting among the players and setting a tone from the outset: what you believe in, what you think of them, and changing the mindset to compete and win.”

“You have to be bullish and brutish in wanting to achieve that. For us, and now England, it was about setting the challenge of winning abroad, big time. I was very firm when it came to team culture: all the prima donnas and all that shit, that had to go out of the window early,” Shastri further said.

Also Read – IPL 2022: “The Biggest Difference In The Contest Was The Fast Bowling” – RP Singh Praises PBKS Fast Bowling Unit Following Win Over CSK In IPL 2022