Provide me a turning track and I will play four spinners: Ravi Shastri

When asked whether Indian will play three spinners in the opening test match, Shastri said, “Why three? We can play four!”

Shastri, who was recently involved in an altercation with Wankhede pitch curator Sudhir Nair for preparing a flat track, said that the decision regarding the team composition will depend on the state of the pitch. “Give me a pitch that turns from Day One and I will play four spinners. Spin has been our strength in the past too. For winning, you need to get 20 wickets. It’s not five or four bowlers. It’s the balance that gets you 20 wickets. I kept saying in the past that it depends on the conditions,” he added.

Shastri also pointed out how the team needed an extra bowler during their tour of Sri Lanka, where they came from behind to win the test series. “In Sri Lanka, we needed five bowlers because of the heat. And we won the Test series because of the fifth bowler. You saw it went into the last session on the final day. If we did not have the extra bowler, a bowler like Ishant would have been tired and could not utilise the second ball,” the 53-year-old was quoted as saying by the Indian Express.