6 august 2018 http://www.openthemagazine.com 39I
t was ExaCtLy a year ago in London that Ravi shastri was
pondering whether to apply for the Indian coaching job a second
time. He had narrowly lost out to anil Kumble in 2016 under not
the most pleasant of circumstances and the scar still remained.
shastri, watching wimbledon at the time, decided to throw his
hat into the ring after Kumble left on account of a meltdown in his
relationship with captain Virat Kohli.
a year on, shastri is firmly in the saddle and will come back to
England confident and hungry, marshalling the world’s best test
team. and shastri, it is no surprise, sees this as an opportunity.
Excerpts from a conversation with Boria Majumdar:coming at the back of the test series in south africa, india is
hoping for a stellar show in england. How confident are you?
Very. I have always seen these tours as an opportunity. and that’s
what I have conveyed to the players. they should look at the tour
as a challenge to make a mark and enjoy the occasion. we played
some excellent cricket in south africa on wickets that weren’t
the easiest and the approach will be no different in England. we
have the team to do well if we play to potential.you were in england all of July playing white-ball cricket going
into the test match in Birmingham. Unlike south africa, this is
reasonable preparation time.
Of course it helps. while I am not one to give excuses, time to
adjust to the conditions does play a part and I am glad the BCCI
has done it this way this time round. some of the boys like Pujara
and Ishant played county cricket while some others travelled
with the a team, which should also help.Despite Virat kohli’s much-awaited county stint not happening,
he should still have had enough time to get acclimatised and
do well in the only country he hasn’t done well so far.
Virat is a quality player and a very good leader. If you see his perfor-
mances in south africa across formats you will see how good he is.
He knows what to expect and I am sure will be ready for the tests
in England. Most importantly, he’s always positive—as I have said
in the past. Even when the going was tough, like it was in south
a frica on the last day of the third test, Virat was confident of win-
ning the game. His mindset makes a big difference to the team.the team has a really good bowling unit. it won’t be unfair to say
this is the best crop of fast bowlers we’ve had in a long time.
absolutely. we have the balance in the bowling unit and that was
evident in south africa. For example, if we are given a green top by
the English, we will relish it as much as they will. In shami, Bum-
rah and Ishant, we have real variety and ability. we also have qual-
ity spinners and that makes us a complete bowling unit, which
is so very necessary to win test matches in overseas conditions.Has this tour been a kind of dress rehearsal for the big prize,
the 2019 World cup, which will also be played in england? Have
preparations for that tournament already begun?
yes, we will be playing in the same grounds and conditions next
year. so, yes, we definitely tried to work on our combinations
while trying to win every game. we played excellent white-ball
cricket in south africa, and against England, which is a very good
white-ball team, the focus was very much the same. But now it is
time for the tests and that’s what we are focusing on. n‘ VirAt’S mindSet mAkeS A big
difference to thiS teAm’
Ravi Shastri
ap