“We are not a team of individuals, we are the Indian cricket team” : Ravi Shastri
Ravi Shastri today praised the Indian team's collective effort as their strength and said that they are a team rather than a group of individuals. On Dharamsala, Shastri opined that he had no idea where India would play Pakistan, but that crowds will turn out in numbers to root for India.
The recently-concluded Asia Cup saw Virat Kohli shining at the big stage again, and when asked about the Delhi boy, Ravi Shastri beamed with pride saying, “Everytime Virat bats you can see, it has passion written all over.” The national team director went on to add, “He loves the big stage and wants to compete against the best in the world as you saw against Pakistan. After Amir’s spell for him to bat in that fashion it was a world class innings. Virat when he is in, he is hungry and wants to get the big score when he has his eye in.”
Having said that, Shastri underlined the excellent performances of the team was down to the collective effort put in by the boys. “We are not a team of individuals, we are the Indian cricket team. Virat’s been in outstanding form, so has Rohit. MS has done a great job lower down the order, Yuvraj has struck form. Shikhar has had his moments. To win big tournaments you can’t have one individual, you need about 7-8 performing consistently,” he added before going on to praise the perfect mix of youth and experience in the present side. “Every side needs that balance, youth and experience. Youth brings energy to the table and keeps seniors on their toes,” said the Indian team director.
Shastri, as usual, defended M S Dhoni when for the umpteenth time he was quizzed about Dhoni's place as captain in the squad. “I have said it long back, by far. Usko aur kya jeetna hai? But fir bhi there will be 2-3 who will want him to retire,” Shastri replied.
The former Indian opener also reserved special praise for all-rounder Hardik Pandya. “He is very important because he has all 3 departments: he’s a very good fielder, he’s sharp when he bowls and he’s a tremendous striker of the ball. You need players like him, people who can do 2 things-bat and bowl,” Shastri said about Pandya.
Shastri also talked about how the Indian bowling has improved over the past few years praising bowling coach Bharath Arun for the phenomenon. “Massive, he’s (Bharath) played a massive role in this. Bowling was jittery because we had some injuries. Ashwin was injured in the first over versus South Africa. We have not had Shami since the World Cup. Nehra and Jasprit have grabbed the opportunity with both hands. And Pandya. You must give credit to Bharat too, he has worked with them for a long period of time,” he said.
Meanwhile, the search for an answer to the Dharamsala saga appears to have reached desperate heights as reporters quizzed Shastri about the venue for the much-awaited Indo-Pak clash. Understandably, Shastri did not have an answer and said, “You’re playing in home conditions, where we will play we don’t know but wherever you play in India, India-Pakistan will draw a huge crowd and majority crowd will be behind India.”