100 Percent Entertainment is Guaranteed On England Tour, Says Ravi Shastri
Ravi Shastri. Photo Credit: Getty Images.

As a fresh cricketing season will get underway in the coming days, Under the guidance of Ravi Shastri, Virat Kohli and his company will be desperate to create their own legacy after proving their mettle at home.

In the last couple of years, the Indian team has looked almost invincible at its den against all the distinct opposition.

As a result, the team is on the top of the ICC Test rankings for quite some time now. Before the beginning of this year, India had won nine consecutive Test series under Kohli’s captaincy. Not surprisingly, the hopes are high that India would be able to replicate their home form in away series too.

Earlier, the start was a forgettable one as India lost the first two Tests in South Africa – to concede the series.  But after that, the Kohli-led side showed why it is being rated so highly.

India won the last Test in Johannesburg before winning the One-day Internationals and T20I series. And all eyes are now on the upcoming tour of England.

Well, the last two tours of England have been nothing less than a nightmare for the Indian contingent. In 2011, they lost 4-0 despite being the world number one Test team before going down 3-1 in 2014.

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Particularly, on those two tours, India only managed to win the 50-over series in 2014.

In a recent interview, head coach Ravi Shastri made it clear that the team wants to treat every series seriously. He went on to say the current side wants to play overseas.

“We have to take every Test series seriously, especially the home games. In fact, we should treat every series like a home game. We have to adapt accordingly. If the other players can, so can we. Collect 20 wickets, put up 300/400 runs on the board. If we can do that, the battle will be fun,” Shastri told India TV.

Ravi Shastri, Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, Team India, Victory, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami
Credit: Getty Images.

“I feel, that this current team, wants to play abroad. If you saw the South Africa Test series, we lost the first two Tests, but the players had the belief that they could win the last Test match and that’s what happened. This current team is like a nucleus. They’ve been playing together for the past 3 to 4 years and now they have realised, that they can play comfortably anywhere because the bench strength is set. Our bowling department is brilliant. New spinners have come in and we have enough pacers as well. For me personally, I feel that the team wants to go out and play,” he added.

India will start their England campaign with the limited-over format. They will play three T20Is and as many ODIs before playing five Tests in England.

When asked about how it feels to be playing with the white-ball before facing the red-ball, Shastri said: “It’s pretty good. We have a month’s time to prepare and gear up for the Test series.”

Prior to the tour of England, India will play a couple of T20Is in Ireland. India will be firm favourites to win the series in Ireland.

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However, Ravi Shastri has highlighted the fact that the team will take every match owing to a merit. He emphasized how Team India wants to keep the consistency cycle running.

“One thing I like about this team, they take every match seriously. They respect whoever the opponent is, they want the winning consistency to linger. If you take a look at the past records of India in the last 3/4 years in all formats, it has been good. Be it any format, the Indian team will be present in the top 2 or 3. Consistency endures further on when you have that winning mindset,” he said.

With England looking in stunning form at the moment as far as their ODI form is concerned, Shastri said the upcoming series is going to be entertaining.

England recently thrashed Australia 5-0 in the ODI series. During the series, they scored 300-plus total thrice and missed out on it on a couple of occasions because they were chasing 200-plus totals.

During the recently held series, they also scored 481 for five in the third ODI which is the highest-ever ODI total.

Jos Buttler
Credits: Getty

“The tracks are good, England are also a terrific side on home conditions. I think it will be a good battle, cause England are doing well and we have plenty of match-winners in our side. On this tour, 100 percent entertainment is guaranteed,” said Shastri.

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